In his signature illustrative style, Sheffield-based Phlegm was busy these past two days gracing a huge wall in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn with his mesmerizing characters, books-in-hand. These images were captured yesterday.
And here’s a close-up:
Photos by Tara Murray
{ 3 comments }
From August 19 – August 25, Los Muros Hablan, an international urban arts festival, gave a voice to silent, empty walls in East Harlem and the South Bronx. Presented by La Repuesta, a leading Puerto Rican cultural space, Los Muros Hablan NYC, featured a wonderfully eclectic group of global artists.
Axel Void, 201 East 103rd Street in East Harlem
Pastel, 138 Street & Grand Concourse in the South Bronx — close-up from huge mural captured via instagram
Celso Gonzalez and Roberto Biaggi, 54 East 116th Street in East Harlem
Viajero, 2022 Third Avenue in East Harlem
Rimx,154 East 100th Street, as seen in progress last week
Betsy Casañas, 1664 Park Avenue in East Harlem
LNY, 195 East 100th Street in East Harlem
Jufe, 2018 Third Avenue in East Harlem
Elian, 138 Street & Grand Concourse in the South Bronx
Photos by Dani Mozeson & Lois Stavsky; keep posted to our Facebook page for more images of the completed murals from this week-long Los Muros Hablan NYC event presented in collaboration with Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito and El Museo del Barrio.
{ 6 comments }
Dozens of new pieces surfaced this past weekend in “The Final Edition” at East Harlem’s Graffiti Hall of Fame on 106th Street & Park Avenue. Here’s a sampling from the event presented by James Top Productions and Joey TDS:
Brazilian writer AK47
Pose 2 and Czech writer Chemis
HopsOne
Scratch and Shock
Tomb. Wizart, Mad1, & Had2
Jerms
Photos by Lois Stavsky
{ 5 comments }
Currently based in both LA and NYC, Bisco Smith is celebrated for his graffiti on walls, as well as for his audio and visual work within hip-hop culture. WORLD UPSIDE DOWN, a recent collection of this talented artist’s works, is on view at Low Brow Artique, 143 Central Avenue in Bushwick, through September 7th. We spoke with Bisco soon after his hugely successful opening:
When and why did you start getting up?
I was about 12 or 13 years old when I started writing.
Any particular inspirations at the time?
I grew up skateboarding, and we were all into writing. Just about everyone in my school had a black book. We also avidly followed Chino’s Graf Flix section in the Source. This was sometime in the mid-90’s.
What was your preferred surface – back then?
Abandoned buildings. I grew up spending day after day inside of a huge dead factory. We could paint anything and everything in there.
Any early graffiti memories that stand out?
The first time I got taken down to the train tracks, a party got broken up by the police and on our escape, we ended up under a bridge filled with burners.
What is the riskiest thing you ever did?
Train tunnels and some less-than-solid rooftops. I remember getting caught between two trains, coming on opposite sides, while I was standing between two third rails. That experience will make you appreciate life all over again.
Why were you willing to take that risk?
I ask myself the same question now.
What percentage of your time is devoted to art these days?
Just about all of it. Both visual arts and music.
Do you have a day job? What is the main source of your income these days?
I work as a graphic designer and I mentor kids. I have a strong moral compass, and just about 98% of the work that I do is for the right cause. I’m involved with various community-based organizations including ARTS By the People, based in New York and New Jersey.
Have you any thoughts about the graffiti/street art divide?
Graffiti has a code, street rules, that “street art” doesn’t have – and that’s one of the reasons for the tensions between the two. But I don’t think there’s enough respect on either side.
How do you feel about the movement of graffiti and street art into galleries?
I think it’s great when people can make a living doing what they love – and also impact others.
Would you rather work alone or collaborate with others?
When I’m working on walls, I prefer to collaborate. More often than not, I paint with my friends and crew mates: Leias, Bishop203 or Meres
Is there anyone in particular with whom you would like to collaborate?
Jackson Pollock – if he were alive.
Any favorite graff artists?
Ces. Since Videograf 8 dropped, that whole 90’s era in the Bronx really was my favorite.
Do you have a formal art education?
Yes. I studied communication design at Pratt.
Was it worthwhile?
Very much so. It taught me a trade. There’s work in graphic design.
How do you feel about the role of the Internet in all this?
Both positive and negative. I love the connections and opportunities, but miss when style was localized
What inspires you these days?
Lately, I have been heavy on instagram and tumblr checking out other artists, working artists.
Are there any particular cultures that have influenced your aesthetic?
Hip-hop culture for sure.
Do you work with a sketch-in-hand or just let it flow?
I let it flow.
Are you generally satisfied with your finished piece?
For the most part, but in the end — for me — it’s more about the day and the moment. The end result is a bonus.
How has your work evolved through the years?
Although I continue to work on the streets, I no longer need its framework to create. I think my artwork is more focused these days – especially if I know it’s headed to a gallery.
What do you see as the role of the artist in society?
Balance out the mundane, as well as make people think.
What about the role of the photographer? The blogger?
It is important to document what’s out there and happening. I think its essential to any movement.
Any thoughts about sanctioned vs. unsanctioned art?
I like them both. I think both are needed and both allow for their own outcomes and impacts.
The Europeans seem to appreciate and respect graffiti far more than we do here in the States? Any thoughts about that?
If it doesn’t make money here, society seems to not appreciate it.
What’s ahead?
More visual explorations, socially engaged work, and gallery exhibits.
Interview by Lois Stavsky. Photos: 1. Bisco on exterior of Low Brow Artique, photo by Lois Stavsky; 2. & 3. Bisco in WORLD UPSIDE DOWN, photos courtesy of the artist; 4. Bisco, Meres, Bishop203 & Leias at 5Pointz, photo by Lois Stavsky; 5. Bisco & Leias on exterior of Low Brow Artique, photo by Tara Murray and 6. Bisco in Watts, photo courtesy of the artist
{ 0 comments }
She stands only five feet tall, but her artwork is monumental. Thirty-four-year old Orly Genger has fashioned 1.4 million feet of lobster-fishing rope into three surging and ebbing sculptures on three separate lawns in Madison Square Park. I passed them by chance earlier this week in an area of town I only occasionally visit, and I was mesmerized. The installation continues through September 8 in NYC and will then travel to the deCordova Sculpture Park in Massachusetts.
Photos by Lois Stavsky
{ 0 comments }
It’s been busy in DUMBO, Brooklyn. For the past week, some of our favorite artists have been gracing its walls with stylishly striking artwork, transforming its landscape into a stunning open-air gallery.
Shepard Fairey at work
Faith47, close-up from completed mural
Another Faith47 close-up
DALeast, close-up from completed mural
Another close-up from DalEast’s mural
Eltono at work
Another close-up from Eltono mural in progress
MOMO, close-up
Another close-up from MOMO mural in progress
These murals are among eight to grace a four-block stretch along the BQE. We will continue documenting DUMBO Walls on our Facebook page.
Photos by Dani Mozeson
{ 2 comments }
The once-abandoned trailer on East 1st Street off 1st Avenue in Manhattan’s East Village has once again been transformed into an intriguing canvas of urban art. Here are a few images we captured these past few days from Cycle 9 of the Centre-Fuge Public Art Project.
Cern at work
Cern, close-up
Damien Miksza at work
QRST at work
Cassie Lynn O’Neal at work
Cake — close-up
Caroline Caldwell at work
Royce Bannon at work on collaborative piece with Korn
The curatorial vision of Pebbles Russell and Jonathan Neville, the Centre-Fuge Public Art Project was conceived in 2011 in memory of Mike Hamm. Submissions to Cycle 10 — due by August 26th — can be sent to centrefuge@gmail.com. Keep posted to our Facebook page for more images from Cycle 9
All photos by Tara Murray, except for final photo by Lois Stavsky.
{ 0 comments }
For over 30 years East Harlem’s Graffiti Hall of Fame has been home to hundreds of stylish masterpieces. This past weekend, generations of fans and writers came together — once again — at 106th and Park to celebrate the extraordinary art movement that began here and continues to impact the world. Here is a selection of images captured at the event:
1983 Wild Style mural by Zephyr, Revolt and Sharp recreated by KingBee and Vase1
The Cone
Craze, Reo, Page3 and Eazy
One of many talented break dancers
In front of the main mural celebrating the 30th anniversary of the film Wild Style
Final photo courtesy of Scott Richardson; other photos by Dani Mozeson, Tara Murray and Lois Stavsky
{ 2 comments }
Armed with spray paint, paintbrushes, markers, pencils and assorted implements, a diverse group of artists have transformed the ground level of the Marina at Pier 57 into a mesmerizing medley of styles, shapes, colors and concepts. Here’s a sampling of what we recently captured on the “magic carpet” under 36 suspended shipping containers:
Iranian stencil artist Icy; Sinned painting, top left
Icy’s brother and partner Sot
Daniel Patrick at work with words
Queens-based artist Sinned, close-up
Painter Bruce Wall at work on piece in collaboration with Josh Miller
Garrison Buxton of Ad Hoc Art
NYC-based RJ Raizk
Brooklyn-based Subtexture
Not pictured are works by Depoe, Rrobots and In Pursuit of Magic.
Commissioned by YoungWoo & Associates, the completed artworks can be seen at the Marina at Pier 57 at West 15th Street within Hudson River Park through July.
Photos by Dani Mozeson, Tara Murray and Lois Stavsky
{ 3 comments }
An astonishing array of first-rate murals have transformed three Bushwick blocks into a spellbinding tribute to the late graffiti writer NEKST. Here’s a selection of the varied, strikingly stylish murals — many fashioned by MSK members — that recently surfaced in the vicinity of the L train’s Morgan Avenue station.
Keep posted to our Facebook page for more outstanding Bushwick NEKST tribute murals.
Photos by Lois Stavsky
{ 0 comments }
