Public Art Projects

The Savage Habbit Mural Project continues to bring an amazing array of murals to nearby Hudson County. Just minutes from NYC, a treasure trove of public artworks can be found. Here’s a sampling:

Angelina Christina, Ease One & Never in Jersey City

angelina-christina-ease-one-never -street-art-savage habbit-NJ

Mike Makatron in Jersey City

Mike-Makatron-street-art-savage-habbit

Smithe, Seher & Kraken in Union City

Smithe-Seher-Kraken-savage-habbit-street-art-Union-City

Smithe-Seher-Kraken-street--art-savage-habbit-NJ

Mata Ruda and Nanook in Jersey City

nanook-mata-ruda savage-habbit-street-art-NJ

To continue showcasing international, national and local artists and enriching the visual landscape of Hudson County with outstanding murals, Savage Habbit recently launched a Kickstarter with wonderfully enticing rewards. Check it out here.

All photos courtesy of Savage Habbit

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This is the sixth in an occasional series featuring images of males who surface on NYC public spaces:

Dasic at the Bushwick Collective

"Dasic Fernandez"

Connor Harrington for the LISA Project in Downtown Manhattan

"Conor Harrington"

Icy & Sot and Sonni for the Bushwick Collective

icy-and-sot-and-sonny-street-art-Bushwick-Collective

Sexer for the Bushwick Collective

Sexer-Bushwick-Collective-love 2

Damien Mitchell at Welling Court in Astoria, Queens

damien-mitchell-at-welling-court 2

 Danielle Mastrion near Yankee Stadium in the Bronx

Danielle-Mastrion-shutter

Photos 1 and 6 by Lois Stavsky; 2-5 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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"Nick Walker"

As a kick-off to a mural program that will involve Street Art 101 classes and workshops, legendary UK-based artist Nick Walker recently completed a series of seven artworks in Downtown Yonkers. In an array of spaces – from a courtyard in the historic Downtown to a nearby rooftop — Nick Walker’s signature vandal can be found, along with the first public appearance of “Les Enfants Terribles.”  Here are a few more images.

Nick Walker at work

"Nick Walker"

Nick’s iconic vandal

"Nick Walker"

And one of its many variations

"Nick Walker"

With a message from Nick

Nick-Walker-signs-stencil-Yonkers-NY

Nick signs yet another variation of his iconic vandal

Nick-Walker-signs-street-art-in-Yonkers

And graces Yonkers with the first public view of “Les Enfants Terribles”   

Nick-Walker-stencil-art-with child-yonkers-NY

In this initiative, managed by local nonprofit, Community Engagement Through the Arts, a team of youth will be assembled to maintain the murals that invited guest artists create in public spaces. Plans are, also, underway for a possible collaboration between the City of Yonkers and the Bushwick Collective.

Photo credit: @fafafooie

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This is the eighth in a series of occasional posts featuring the range of faces that surface in NYC open spaces:

Dasic in Bushwick, Brooklyn

Dasic

Rimx and Ricardo Cabret — in progress for NY Street Gallery — on the patio outside Exit Room NY, in Bushwick, Brooklyn

Rimx-and-Ricardo-Cabret

Long-running ECB in Bushwick, Brooklyn

ECB

Jordan Betten in Midtown Manhattan

"Jordan Betten"

Alice Mizrachi in Bushwick playground

"Alice Mizrachi"

Long-running Chris Soria  — created with Groundswell youth — in Red Hook, Brooklyn

"Chris Soria"

FoxxFace for the LISA Project in Little Italy, Manhattan

Foxxface

Sexer for the TAG Public Arts Project in the Bronx

Sexer

Photos: Dasic, Jordan Betten and Chris Soria by Dani Reyes Mozeson; all others by Lois Stavsky

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Groundswell

We were introduced to Esteban del Valle’s remarkable talents a number of years back at 5Pointz. We’ve since seen his deftly crafted artwork in Bushwick, the Lower East Side, Red Hook, Welling Court and recently at the 21st Precinct Art Exhibit.  And in addition to forging his own artwork, Esteban has been sharing his skills and vision with youth this past summer in Brownsville, Brooklyn.  Last week, the mural created by 17 young men in Groundswell’s Summer Leadership Institute, along with Esteban and his assistant artist, Jose de Jesus Rodriguez, was officially unveiled.  Located at 417 Junius Street on the wall of the Food Bazaar Supermaket, it represents the best possible model for public art. At the mural’s dedication ceremony, I had the opportunity to find out from Esteban a bit more about this particular project, P. I. C. T. U. R. E. S Prison Industrial Complex: Tyranny Undermining Rights, Education and Society.

Esteban-del-valle-public-mural-NYC

This mural is quite amazing. When did you begin working on it?

We began on July 2nd.

Can you tell us something about the process?

We spent the first two weeks researching the issue, discussing the justice system and designing our representation of it. The final four weeks were devoted to painting the mural.

Groundswell-Public-Art

Why this topic?

It’s of particular relevance to this community. We see this mural as a way to raise awareness and provoke discussion about the subject of the prison industrial complex. Some of the youth involved in this all-male Making His’tory mural team have had first-hand experience with the way the justice system functions.

Esteban-del-valle-public-mural

How have the young muralists responded to this project?

The response has been great. We’ve had many intense discussions and we can all walk away with a sense of accomplishment.

What has this experience been like for you, personally?

It was very exciting. And it was great for all of us to see an idea executed into a reality.

Esteban-del-valle-and-Groundswell-youth-street-art-mural-close-up

Have you any personal message?

With these tools (pen and paint brush in hand), you can change your life and your community.

Elijah Barrington, one of the project’s participants, added the following to our conversation:  We sweated every day to get this wall to look the way we wanted it to. I felt focused and happy, and I learned so much. I’m already looking forward to the next project.

Brief interview and photos by Lois Stavsky

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Topaz

Yesterday at noon, the 14th edition of the NYC Graffiti Hall of Fame, presented by Joey TDS and James Top, was officially launched inside the famed East Harlem schoolyard on 106th Street and Park Avenue. Here is a small sampling of what went down during the early afternoon:

Topaz

Topaz

Scratch

scratch-graffiti-hall-of-fame

Ligisd

Graffiti-Hall-of-Fame

Hops

Hops

Bver

Bver

Wiz Art

"Wiz Ar"t

Queen Andrea

"Queen Andrea"

 And earlier in the week, Tats Cru — with Crash and Nick Walker — fashioned a huge mural outside the school yard. Here are some close-ups:

crash-bio-nick-walker

"Tats Cru"

Tats Cru

The 14th edition of the NYC Graffiti Hall of Fame continues today from noon to 8pm.

Photos by Dani Reyes Mozeson

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Under the curatorial direction of Tag Public Arts Project founder, SinXero, the walls on and off the 6 line in the South Central section of the Bronx have become one of the borough’s visual highlights.  Loved by both local residents and passersby, these murals, in fact, are now incorporated into an official tour of the Bronx. Here is a small sampling of what can be seen:

Marthalicia Matarrita and Raquel Echanique 

Raquel-Echanique-street-art-Bronx

Marthalicia Matarrita, close-up

"Marthalicia Matarrita"

Sexer

Sexer

 SinXero

SinXero

See TF

SeeTF

Col Wallnuts

Col

Werc

Werc

Daek William — in from Australia 

"Daek William"

Damien Mitchell

"Damien Mitchell"

Billy Mode and Chris Stain

"Billy Mode and Chris Stain"

Zimad — close-up 

Zimad

Keep posted to our Facebook page for many more Tag Public Arts Project images and check here for piece painted by the legendary John Matos aka Crash.

Photos by Lois Stavsky

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stephen-powers-a-love-letter-to-the-city

The following guest post is by Houda Lazrak, a graduate student in Museum Studies at New York University.  

To the discontent of many, the corporate advertisements plaguing the urban landscape have become integral to our every-day visual vocabulary.  As a response, street art is often offered as an alternative platform to reclaim public space from the impersonal iconography of corporate publicity.  However, Philadelphia native Stephen Powers has employed that very language to empower his own personal vision.

"Stephen Powers"

A Love Letter to the City tells the tale of how artist Steve Powers’ witty lettering and profound insight turned advertising on its head.  Authored by Powers himself, the book is a visually astonishing compilation of his large scale public art projects in cities across the globe, such as Philadelphia, New York City, Dublin, Sao Paulo and Johannesburg.  With each chapter focusing on a metropolis, the book illustrates the artist’s engagement and collaboration with local communities and art organizations to “reflect their collective visions and dreams… to make art for the people.”

Powers’ outrageously honest introduction retraces his debut into the graffiti world under the moniker of ESPO in Philadelphia.  In first-person narratives, he highlights his experiences and encounters that propelled him to the status of acclaimed public artist.  Readers are treated to his eloquent personal recollections, as well as captivating photographs of his beautifully executed street art pieces.

"Steve Powers aka ESPO"

Steve Powers’ employs signage style graphics to produce poignant conceptual pieces, ranging from single word slogans to multiple line phrases. The publication’s images bear witness to Powers’ ability to marvelously blend colors into the pre-existing urban hues.  Prior to hand-painting site-specific murals, Powers deeply immersed himself in the spirit of each city.  He embraced the values and needs of communities, deciphered central issues of local histories, and appreciated the soul of its neighborhoods.

"Stephen Powers"

In Coney Island, Powers worked with local citizens to revitalize an abandoned space into a sign shop/social club. The shop produced street signage for the inhabitants free of charge, which served to invigorate local businesses, as well as to enhance the community’s visual landscape.  In another instance in Dublin, Powers altered his design plans when he saw a neighborhood recurrent tag: “Please call me, I am home, the door is open, ” followed by a phone number.  Inspired by the message of love and loneliness, Powers then created a mural that spoke to similar concerns.

"Stephen Powers"

A Love Letter to the City provides invaluable insights into the creative mindset of a unique street artist.  It sheds light on the back-stories of his sign pieces, from his improbable conversations with passersby to the formally held community meetings.  Ultimately, the book illustrates how Powers and his team remarkably wove intricate typographic art into the fabric of multiple cities around the world.

All images courtesy of Princeton Architectural Press

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This is the 13th in an occasional series of posts featuring images of girls — and women — who grace our public spaces:

Swoon in Bushwick

Swoon

Bàlu in Inwood

Balu

Jana and Js at the Bushwick Collective

"Jana and Jes"

Damien Mitchell at the Bushwick Collective

"Damien Mitchell"

William Power and Joseph Meloy in the Bronx

"William Powers"

Danielle Mastrion and Lexi Bella at Welling Court

"Daniel Mastrion and Lexi Bella"

Zeso in Garden City

Zeso

Photos of Swoon, Jana & Js, Danielle Mastrion & Lexi Bella by Dani Reyes Mozeson; of Bàlu, Damien Mitchell, William Power & Joseph Meloy by Lois Stavsky; of Zeso courtesy of the artist 

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