A public art and mural festival founded and run by volunteer members of the Jackson Young Professionals, Bright Walls has brought more than 70 vibrantly intriguing murals to Jackson’s downtown district within the past four years. The remarkable image pictured above — spelling out “REMARKABLE” in reference to Jackson — was painted by the masterly artist Pref, who defines his aesthetic as “Post typography.” It was captured last month at this year’s Bright Walls by travel and street photographer Karin du Maire aka Street Art Nomad, as were the following images:
Tracing the emergence of graffiti from an underground subculture into a legitimate profession, Duality: A Graffiti Story — directed by Ryan Dowling — focuses on the struggles and successes of five noted graffiti artists. In the Buffalo 8 documentary feature film, legendary writersMeres One, Dual, Sloke, Jaber and Never1959 share their challenges and ventures as they reflect on their personal journeys in this ever-evolving culture.
Many graffiti writers — who were initially deemed as vandals for their tagging and illegal interventions — now earn wide recognition and respect for their stirring murals that grace cities across the globe. Their aesthetics have made their way inside and outside a range of upscale properties from luxury hotels to major corporations — who court them to enhance the “coolness” of their brands.
Once working mainly clandestinely, these artists now foster community, as they share their talents openly with others — who are eager to learn from their skills or simply observe and photograph them as they paint. And as their artwork begins to blur the lines between graffiti, urban art and fine art, it also increasingly finds a home in galleries.
Among the film’s recurrent themes is the artists’ addiction to getting up and their deep love for graffiti. “I’ll probably never ever not want to write my name on something. It’s an addiction for sure,” states Dual. “It’s amazing that there’s that opportunity to bridge the gap from doing illegal graffiti to doing commercial work with big companies.”
Several screenshots from the riveting documentary follow:
NYC-based Meres One, founder and curator of the iconic graffiti mecca 5Pointz — whose talents continue to make their way onto walls, huge canvases, lightbulbs and varied corporate settings.
Houston, Texas-based Dual, best known for his wheat pastes — whose body of artwork includes everything from meticulously-made tape collages to sign painting to huge commissioned murals that beautify cities
Austin, Texas native Sloke — who, in addition to painting, curating and mentoring youth — has produced murals for a range of companies including Apple, Facebook, Nike, Google, Red Bull and Time Warner
West Coast-based Jaber (ala El Ninja Blanco) — who has been making his mark on the streets since the early 9o’s and now does — among other things — design for major fashion companies and film sets
Los Angeles-based Never1959 — who is best-known for his large scale murals on buildings around Los Angeles
Never‘s 50-foot high mural that parodies the 1958 Orson Welles film noir “Touch of Evil”
The premiere of this splendid homage to graffiti will take place tomorrow, October 19th, in Austin, Texas. And beginning Oct. 21, it will be available on Amazon Prime, AppleTV/iTunes, Google Play, Vudu, and YouTube movies.
From September 15 – 18, an all-female team of urban artists — local, national and global — brought their skills and visions to 49 Wyckoff Avenue in Bushwick, Brooklyn.
The stunning image featured above was fashioned collaboratively by project curator Herakut (pictured) and Miami-based Didi Contreras. Several select images — all captured by by travel and street photographer Karin du Maire aka Street Art Nomad — follow:
Brooklyn-based Lexi Bella, who assisted the project’s curation (top), and local, mixed-media artist Isabelle Ewing
New York-based interdisciplinary artist and educator Alice Mizrachi
The legendary Ecuadorian-American graffiti artist and muralist Lady Pink
While street art is too often used as an avenue to gentrify neighborhoods, it can also serve – as depicted in Spencer Wilkinson’s award-winning documentary film ALICE STREET– as a tool to empower, energize and unite members of diverse communities in their struggle against gentrification.
In 2013, Chilean studio painter Pancho Peskador joined forced with Chicago-born aerosol artist Desi Mundo to create a four-story mural at 14th Street and Alice Street in downtown Oakland. Painted directly across from Hotel Oakland Village, a facility that provides affordable housing and services to hundreds of Chinese seniors, and the noted Malonga Center, a venue for African drumming, culture and dance performances, the mural — designed with direct input from the folks served by the neighboring sites — represented downtown Oakland’s diverse cultures.
But by then gentrification had aggressively reared its ugly head. Local folks were concerned about being economically and culturally displaced as rents feverishly increased, along with condominiums to house the wealthy. And soon after the hugely impressive mural was completed, the news came that another development would be under way that would block the its view.
ALICE STREET brilliantly documents the people’s fervent and largely successful struggle against unbridled corporate greed, as they fight to preserve their culture and their neighborhood. It is an ode to the power of public art to not only enhance but to transform our lives.
In this fifth post of our new series, PUSHING IT FORWARD — featuring ILLicit creatives claiming space on NYC streets — our focus now is on those bombs and throws that have surfaced in Manhattan. The image above features the markings of Spray RBV and Goog, along with dozens of tags. Several more images recently captured on the streets of Manhattan — from Chinatown to Inwood — follow:
For several weeks beginning in late May, Will Power brought his massive love of hip-hop and splendid skills to the 150-foot tunnel along New York and Ravine Avenues in Jersey Heights. Working in collaboration with noted hip-hop documentarians Ernie Paniccioli, T. Eric Monroe and David Corio, Will painted a momentous mural paying homage to 45 hip-hop icons and to the photographers who so brilliantly documented them.
Captured above at the entry to the Hip-Hop Tunnel is the late legendary Tupac Shakur — based on a photo by T. Eric Monroe. Several close-ups from inside the tunnel follow:
Sponsored by the Jersey City Mural Arts Program, the hugely impressive mural — seen by thousands daily as they travel in and out of Jersey Heights — is a spectacular tribute to hip-hop culture.
Since 2014, Waterford Walls, Ireland’s largest street art festival, has been transforming and regenerating urban spaces in Waterford, Ireland’s oldest city, while inspiring and connecting communities. Earlier this month, Waterford Walls held its eighth street art festival with over 28 national and international artists creating huge murals across Waterford City and the surrounding areas.
The enchanting mural featured above was painted by the London-based French street artist Zabou with the Dublin-based French illustrator and muralist Juliette Viode. They are both captured here — posing with the local boy depicted in the mural — by travel and street photographer Karin du Maire aka Street Art Nomad. Several more images from the recent Waterford Walls follow:
In this fourth post of our new series, PUSHING IT FORWARD — featuring ILLicit creatives claiming space on NYC streets — our focus now is on the streets of Staten Island. Widely overlooked by graffiti and street art aficionados, the blocks on and off Bay Street in Stapleton host an infectious range of both sanctioned and unsanctioned images fashioned by local artists and by those from neighboring boroughs. Featured above are the markings of the prolific Pöe. Several more photos of ILLicit public works recently captured in Staten Island follow:
Currently on view at Underhill Walls in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn is a delightfully nostalgic trip down TV’s memory lane. In the murals featured above, accolades are given to The Sopranos by Paolo Tolentino, while Subway Doodle honors Battlestar Galactica. Several more images from Underhill Walls‘ current iteration follow:
Multi-media artist Sage Gallon pays homage to “The Sonny and Cher Show” for its “talent and variety”
Painter and muralist Jessie Novik celebrates “I Love Lucy”
Artist and arts educator Carnivorous Flora recreates “The Partridge Family” as “little people with a bus rolling out the red carpet to Ukrainian refugees and welcoming them to NYC!”
Tattoo artist and designer DozenFingers Graphics celebrates the animated television series “Sonic the Hedgehog”
Muralist and illustrator Miki Mu adds the final touches to her playful ode to “Sesame Street”
Visual artist and poet Android Oi — in collaboration with painter and illustrator Melissa Schainker — celebrates “Mork & Mindy,” (with project coordinator Jeff Beler standing to his right).
Founded and curated by Jeff Beler, Underhill Walls is a non-profit public art installation located at the corner of St. Johns Place and Underhill Avenue in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn,
Earlier this summer, several members of the OTM Graff Crew brought their spectacular skills to Bushwick, where they fashioned their distinctly impressive rendition of Jurassic World Dominion. Featured above are the talents of Cortes and Scope against a background created by Cortes, Meres, Albertus Joseph and Topaz. Several more images captured from the huge production follow:
Cortes against collaborative background, closer-up
Meres, 5Pointz founder, who spearheaded this production
