Street Artists

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Presenting a diverse range of mural art by over 30 local, national and global artists, Canvas 2016 has brought soul and spirit to Downtown West Palm Beach, transforming it into an intriguing outdoor museum. Pictured above is by Tristan Eaton. Here are several more images I captured this past Sunday:

Brazilian artist Sipros with the Dutch duo Pipsqueak, close-up

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Brazilian muralist Kobra does Albert Einstein, close-up

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Parisian artist Astro

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The German duo, Herakut, close-up — with a message

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German artist Case Maclaim

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Spanish muralists PichiAvo

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Photos by Lois Stavsky 

Note: Hailed in a range of media from Wide Walls 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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In its mission to shed light on the plight of child workers and raise funds to halt child slavery, Street Art for Mankind — a non-profit public charity that promotes art for social change — has engaged dozens of artists renowned for sharing their talents and visions in public spaces. Pictured above is a huge mural fashioned by Clandestinos currently on view at 7401 NW Miami Ct in Little River, Miami. What follows are several more images — some just seen this past week in Miami and others captured last month in New York City at the closing ceremony for #AtThisAge, the first United Nations exhibit featuring street art.

Clandestinos —  Bruno Smoky and Shalak Attack — at The French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF) in NYC

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London-based Mr Cenz, close-up, as seen in Miami

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Mr Cenz aThe French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF) in NYC

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Portuguese artist Mr. Dheo in Miami

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Mr. Dheo at The French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF) in NYC

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Copenhagen-based Victor Ash in Miami

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Victor Ash at The French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF) in NYC

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Parisian artist Jo Di Bona in Miami

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Jo Di Bona at The French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF) in NYC

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Trek6 in Miami, his home town

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And Trek6 educating youngsters on the art of the spray can on the Miami grounds of Street Art for Mankind

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The dozens of murals remain on view through tomorrow, Monday, at 7401 NW Miami Ct in Little River. And, also, tomorrow, 70 masterpieces — from 4×4 feet to 40×8 feet  — will be be auctioned. Check here for further info about the closing day’s activities and the auction that will raise funds for the Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation (KSCF) to help rescue and rehabilitate enslaved children across the world. And there’s much ahead for Street Art for Mankind as exhibits, workshops and auctions are planned for Paris, Sao Paulo, Dubai and Seoul.

Photo credits: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 & 12 Lois Stavsky; 2, 4, 6, 8 & 10 Karin du Maire 

Note: Hailed in a range of media from Wide Walls 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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While visiting Miami’s Design District yesterday, I had the opportunity to preview FAAM‘s sixth edition of its “Major Street Art Auction.”  Pictured above is one side of Faile‘s hugely impressive tower. Here are several more images of works that will remain on exhibit through Sunday, with a live auction tomorrow, Saturday evening, at 5PM.

Another view of Faile‘s Tower with Banksy’s Caveman on far right

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Federico Massa aka Iena Cruz, Glass Eye, Acrylic on canvas

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Tracy 168, Wild Style, Mixed-media on canvas

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Luis Berros, Khalo, Mixed media on wood panel

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Tats Cru and more, Mixed media with enamel paint on digital photo on five foam core panels

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Abstrk, Untitled, spray enamel on wood panel

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Speedy Graphito, American Kings, Acrylic on canvas

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Flyer with info — featuring Banksy’s Caveman

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 Photos of artworks 1-7 by Lois Stavsky

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“Helping to make the JMZ lines more colorful one wall, one gate, one space at a time,” JMZ Walls continues to bring a diverse range of first-rate street art and graffiti — by both local and global artists — to South Bushwick. I recently had the opportunity to speak to its founder, Alberto Mejia.

When was JMZ Walls first launched?

In the fall of 2014.

What spurred you to initiate it?

I’d been living in Bushwick – off the JMZ lines – for 20 years. In the past several years, I saw positive changes in in other parts of Bushwick that I didn’t see happening here.

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And many of these changes are directly related to the art that had begun surfacing on the streets.

Yes! My vision was to bring street artists, graffiti writers and muralists to my end of Bushwick. And I didn’t think that these genres should be kept separate from one another.  Why shouldn’t graffiti writers share space with street artists and muralists?

I agree! And the visual impact of JMZ Walls has been great. How did you go about getting walls for artists?

I know many of the building owners. At first I started asking for gates, and soon the owners were offering walls to me.

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Who were some of the first artists to paint for JMZ Walls?

The first piece was by a German graffiti writer, Byond.  He was followed by Queen Andrea, Claw Money and Dasic Fernandez.  I was inspired by Queen Andrea, in fact, to dedicate an entire block — Lawton Street — to female artists!

How do you decide which artists to include?

I’m interested in giving opportunities to local graffiti artists who haven’t had all that many occasions to paint in legal spots. And I love hosting talented artists from abroad who are seeking a space to paint.  I also like giving opportunities to artists who don’t generally paint in public spaces.

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Yes! I was introduced to several artists – including BK Foxx – through JMZ Walls. How has the local community responded to JMZ Walls?

Families have been very appreciative, and the kids love the art. I often hear them saying, “That’s cool!” when they pass by.

Yup! You have certainly enlivened this end of Bushwick! It’s worth a ride on the J, M or Z line out here just to see these walls you’ve curated! I’ve done it often! What – would you say – has been your greatest challenge?

My greatest challenge has been financing it. Supplies and paints are expensive, and artists’ budgets are often limited. You can find out here how you can help support us through our recently launched GoFundMe Campaign.

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Thank you for all that you’ve done for the community and for all of us street art and graffiti aficionados. We look forward to what’s ahead for JMZ Walls.  And good luck with your GoFundMe Campaign.

Images

1. BK Foxx

2. Brazilian artists Thiago Valdi & l7m

3. Rio de Janeiro-based  Marcelo Ment

4. Kesta 

5. Montreal-based Philippe Mastrocola aka Spraycam

Photo credits: 1 & 2 Tara Murray; 3-5 Lois Stavsky; interview conducted and edited by Lois Stavsky

Note: Hailed in a range of media from Wide Walls 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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On view at the Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery in Havorford Pa. is ALL BIG LETTERS, curated by Vandalog editor RJ Rushmore. In his “attempt to demystify graffiti,” RJ focuses on the tools and strategies of writers – rather merely on their styles. And he succeeds brilliantly. What follows are several images from the exhibit, largely illustrative of the various tools and strategies employed by writers in their quest to attain recognition. Pictured above is a huge wall painted by Faust who initially made his mark on our streets with hundreds of stickers featuring his exquisite handwriting.

Curve, an installation featuring his writing on a range of found materials

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Lee Quinones, Howard the Duck

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Martha Cooper, photography; below — a range of tools of the trade — both homemade and commercial 

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EKG, The Tools of Graffiti 

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A sampling of stickers from DB Burkeman’s stuckupofficial collection

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And accompanying the exhibit is a catalog with an outstanding selection of images, accompanied by insightful essays by both RJ and Carlo McCormick. Located on the campus of Haverford College, 370 Lancaster Avenue, the Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery is about a 30-minute ride from Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station. ALL BIG LETTERS can be seen through March 3.

Photos by Lois Stavsky

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An extraordinary array of found objects have been transformed into intriguing repurposed art for Fat Free Art‘s first annual Bizarre Bazaar.  Pictured above is Hektad‘s American graffiti flag looming over Urbanimal‘s table. Here are severel more works from this stylishly imaginative exhibit.

Raphael Gonzalez, An Ciana

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Tomaso Albertini, Butterfly Effect, huge segment of framed piece

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What Will You Leave Behind, Worth Nothing

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Icy and Sot, Let Her Be Free

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Bianca Romero, The Muse Says — to the right of  Hektad‘s spray cans — and shoes designed by SacSix on shelf below

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JPO, 3 of a Kind

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Suckadelic, Pussy Grabs Back

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The exhibit continues through March 4 at Fat Free Art, 102 Allen Street on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. It is open Tuesday – Saturday 11AM-7PM & Sunday 12PM-5PM,

Photos by Lois Stavsky

Note: Hailed in a range of media from Wide Walls to the Huffington Post and the New York Times, our Street Art NYC App is now available for Android devices here.

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Reflecting Tel Aviv’s restless energy, much of the street art that surfaces there emanates a distinct edginess. Pictured above are long-running pieces by Klone and Foma. Here are several more recently captured:

Dede

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Adi Sened

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Michal Rubin

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Mr di Maggio

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Jonathan Kis-LevRos Plazma and more

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Signor Gi

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Murielle Street Art

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Photo credits: 1 Sara C Mozeson; 2-8 Lois Stavsky

Note: Hailed in a range of media from Wide Walls to the Huffington Post and the New York Times, our Street Art NYC App is now available for Android devices here.

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The following guest post is by Houda Lazrak:

Since 2010, the annual urban art festival, Santurce Es Ley, has been gracing the walls of the downtown San Juan district of Santurce, revitalizing it with dozens of distinctive works by local and global street artists. Here are several that I came upon on my recent visit:

London native D*Face and Puerto Rican artist Bik Ismo

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Puerto Rican native Abey Charron

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The Puerto Rican Collective El Basta

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West Coast – based Zio Ziegler

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Puerto Rican Collective Morivivi

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French artist Seth GlobePainter

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Puerto Rican artist David Zayas (top) and Buenos Aires-based Pastel

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All photos by Houda Lazrak

Note: Hailed in a range of media from the Huffington Post to the New York Times, our Street Art NYC App is now available for Android devices here.

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Penned by photographer, writer, neuroscientist and street art aficionado, Yoav Litvin, 2Create: Art Collaborations in New York City is a distinctly elegant ode to the art of collaboration. Recently released by Schiffer Publishing, it was formally launched last month at the Bronx Museum of the Arts alongside a collaborative photography exhibit, 2gether: Portraits of Duos in Harlem and the South Bronx by Litvin and Tau Battice. A textual and visual documentation of the creative and collaborative process among nine pairs of artists, 2Create also presents first-hand accounts of each one’s early life and work.

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Featuring such duos from NYC-based Al Diaz and Jilly Ballistic to the Iranian brothers Icy and Sot, 2Create: Art Collaborations in New York City showcases a broad range of styles, sensibilities and processes. It also introduces us to the specific locale — from Manhattan’s Union Square Subway Station to a Greenpoint, Brooklyn rooftop — of each of the collaborative works featured. With its astute insights and superb design, it stands out among the dozens of street art-related books published last year.

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After reading the book, I posed a few questions to Yoav:

Your first book, the highly acclaimed Outdoor Gallery: New York City, focused largely on individual artists. Why did you decide to focus on duos in this book? 

In contrast to other art forms, such as music or dance, the visual arts involve a more solitary practice. Painters are famous for being hermits: closing themselves off from the world in their studios where they paint their masterpieces. At least, that’s the popular narrative. I feel that because the visual arts are easily commodified and objectified, they have evolved in such a way.  While I was working on Outdoor Gallery, which focuses on 46 individual artists, I noticed several duos of street and graffiti artists who produced incredible works, and I was fascinated by their practices. In 2Create I seek to investigate the art and practice of collaboration in different mediums — collage work, screen printing, stenciling, graffiti and mural making. My goal with 2Create is twofold: to present the behind-the-scenes processes of these artists and to investigate the secrets of collaboration, with the ultimate aim of encouraging others to create together. Just like any skill, collaboration needs to be practiced!

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How did you decide which duos to feature in 2Create?

My process with 2Create was mostly democratic. I was looking to present a diversity of styles, messages, mediums and locales. I am cognizant and weary of the politics involved in the arts and attempted to focus on artists that I felt were doing radical, innovative work and were constantly challenging themselves. Throughout my research on collaborations, I discovered there were two major categories that lie on a continuum — from complementary collaborations – individual works presented side by side – to integrative, a single piece that seamlessly integrates the work of two artists. I chose nine duos that present the full spectrum.

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What insights did you, yourself, gain into the collaborative process, particularly among visual artists?

Collaboration is a skill that should be practiced by any visual artist as part of his/her development. Collaboration is an exciting and stimulating process that can produce immense growth if approached correctly, but can be very challenging at times. An artist needs to respect and trust his or her collaborator and be willing to be adaptable and open to critique. The collaborative process can open new doors for an artist  — in techniques, messages, ideas and human connections that can be useful moving forward.

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The book, itself, is masterfully designed. Can you tell us something about that? 

For the design I worked with the designer Dan Michman, who is also an excellent childhood friend. It was important for me that every aspect of this project be collaborative. Dan is the best designer I know, plus I like him a lot and knew from experience that we’d collaborate well. Our process was incredible. Dan took my materials — images and texts — along with my notions on the artistic process and on collaboration, and created a stunning design “language” for the book. It was a truly integrative collaborative process. I could not be happier with the way it turned out. Plus, the cover design is simply stunning. Lastly, Schiffer Publishing did a great job in the book’s production.

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How has the response been to 2Create?  Is there any particular readership you’d like to reach?

The response has been overwhelmingly positive. In addition to appealing to the street art and graffiti fan crowd, my hope is that 2Create will integrate as a text book for art schools, colleges and universities. I believe the behind-the-scenes process shots, the revealing interviews and the insight into the art of collaboration make it a unique resource for artists in general, and visual artists in particular. But 2Create is more than a book on art. It is a document that presents the collaborative duo as the basic unit of a collective humanity in which empathy and collaboration trump disregard and domination. In an era of the cult of celebrity, war and climate change, collective action is not only beneficial, it is necessary. 2Create expresses these radical notions and I hope it will serve to inspire activists fighting for the greater good.

For more listen to Yoav speak on Counterpunch Radio here.

Images

1 & 2 Rubin and Dasic 

3 & 4 Bunny M and Square 

5  Stikki Peaches and Dain

6 & 7 Icy & Sot

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All images © Yoav Litvin

Note: Hailed in a range of media from 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 self-taught, multi-disciplinary artist, Sara Erenthal has a strong presence on the streets of Park Slope, Brooklyn. We recently spoke.

You’ve established quite a presence here on the streets of Park Slope. What keeps you coming back?

There is a lack of public art in Park Slope, and there seems to be a hunger for it. Folks here have been so receptive to what I am doing. They seem excited to have something interesting and different to look at.  Park Slope is where I am living these days, and so it’s easy for me to get around either by foot or by bike.

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With the exceptions of the walls you are commissioned to paint, your canvas is almost always some type of discarded object. Why is that?

Since folks take many of my works home with them, I feel that I am saving trash from ending up in landfills. Also – what I am doing is not illegal. I cannot take the legal risks of doing unsanctioned artworks that could land me with a fine, time in jail or both.

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You almost always seem to be drawing faces. Can you tell us something about them?

They are variations of myself – subconscious portraits. Growing up in a cloistered ultra-Orthodox world, I was limited to just one hairstyle. The changes in the hairstyles represent the changes in myself.

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I’ve noticed folks stop and often photograph you while you are drawing.  Do any particular interactions with passersby stand out?

Yes! Recently a woman ran after me as I was rushing out of my house — in my pajamas — to the local health food store to buy some ginger. I was sick at the time. She asked me if she could bring her father – a huge fan since he had seen my work on a mattress — to meet me. He showed up almost instantly for his daughter to snap a photo of the two of us  — with me decked in my pajamas!

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In addition to your work on found objects, you’ve also painted on a range of sanctioned surfaces this past year. Any particular challenges? Any favorites?

Painting on a shuttered gate was definitely a challenge as I generally paint on flat surfaces. Among my favorites is the artwork that I painted at D’Vine Taste.

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Yes! I love the stark simplicity of the white on black. It’s beautiful! And what about the piano? How did that become your canvas?

A local pre-school threw it out last spring with a sign “Free piano.” Six months later it was still there. I asked then for permission to paint it. And I love that it is still there! I feel as though I gave it a new life.

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You did! What’s ahead? 

I am now preparing for a solo show to open at FiveMyles Gallery at 558 St Johns Place on March 9 from 6-9pm. And later in the spring, I will be exhibiting my work at Google’s New York site in Chelsea. An outdoor mural in Gowanus is also on the horizon.

I’m looking forward to it all! Good luck!

Photo credits: 1-5 & 7 Lois Stavsky; 6 Tara Murray; interview conducted and edited by Lois Stavsky

Note: Hailed in a range of media from the Huffington Post to the New York Times, our Street Art NYC App is now available for Android devices here.

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