An incredible variety of faces — representing a range of styles, techniques and sensibilities — make their way onto Miami’s walls. Here’s a small sampling of what has surfaced in Wynwood:
PichiAvo. a larger segment of huge mural in Wynwood Walls
Miles Toland, close-up
Christina Angelina aka Starfightera and Fanakapan, close-up
Kevin Ledo and Fin DAC, close-up
Photo credits: 1 & 2 Sara C. Mozeson; 3-7 Lois Stavsky
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Hosting several renowned bands and musicians, Mount Vernon’s Mes Hall is also home to The Drip Project, an ever-evolving treasure trove of images painted by some of NYC’s best-known graffiti artists and most notorious bombers. Last week, we made our way to Mount Vernon to speak to Drip Project director Harris Lobel.
This is such an amazing space. What a treasure! How did you discover it?
I’ve known it for awhile. Several of my friends — who I grew up with in Riverdale — use it as a music studio.
And when did you begin curating it?
About six months ago.
Riverdale — where you grew up — is quite void of graffiti. Do you remember where and when you first noticed it?
Yes! I was eight years old when I discovered a piece by Tracy 168 on 231th Street and Broadway. I fell in love with it at once, and kept on returning to it.
And these days you seem to love it all! Your personal Instagram, @streetart_photography, features quite a range of street art and graffiti. When did you become so engaged with it all?
When Banksy was here in NYC in 2013 for his Better Out Than In residency, I kept up with his new works daily. Then — after he left — I continued hunting and photographing works on the streets. Within a short period of time, I became thoroughly obsessed with graffiti and street art.
We can certainly relate to that! How did you make contact with all the great writers who have painted here?
I’d met Plasma Slug awhile back, and he introduced me to many of the others. I also got the word out through my Instagram page.
Can you tell us something more about the Drip Project? What is the inspiration behind it?
It’s basically a collective featuring artists whose styles I love. The inspiration to launch it came from the photography I’ve posted on my Instagram page and the response that it got.
What do you see as your role? Where are you going?
I would like to promote the artists whose works I love by exhibiting their work and managing the placement of their works in gallery shows. I am also interested in producing a variety of original goods in different media that reflect their styles.
How does your family feel about this?
They love it! My father is a photographer and has been totally supportive.
You’ve done an amazing job — so far — in reaching out to so many first-rate artists. What has been your greatest challenge in launching the Drip Project?
Getting folks to come out to Mount Vernon — as many haven’t been here before. And providing artists with money for paint and transportation is another challenge.
How can artists who are interested in participating in the Drip Project contact you?
The best way would be via my email: Harris.Lobel@live.com.
And what about folks who would like to visit and check out the amazing art?
Yes! They can contact me too — at Harris.Lobel@live.com, and I will arrange to meet them here. There’s a bus from the last stop on the 2 train that stops nearby, and we are just a short walk from the Metro North.
It all sounds great — and so much fun! Good luck!
Images
1. Tracy 168
2. & 3. Plasma Slug
4. Belowkey
5. Stu
6. Snoeman
7. Kingbee
Photo credits: 1, 2 & 4 Lois Stavsky; 3, 5-7 Tara Murray; interview by Lois Stavsky
Note: This blog will be on vacation through March 30. You can follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
Hailed in a range of media from the Huffington Post to the New York Times, our Street Art NYC App is now available here for Android devices.
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Based in Brooklyn, Misha Tyutyunik aka MDOT is an accomplished painter, muralist and illustrator. His recent venture, fashioned along with a team of Groundswell youth, looms large at 11 Howard Street in SoHo. Earlier this week, we visited his studio and had the opportunity to speak to him.
When and where did you first make your mark on the streets?
Back in 1999, Wisher 914 and I hit up the water tower in Mohegan Lake in North Westchester where we grew up. But my outdoor work is largely commissioned murals. I painted my first one for SoBro in the Bronx in 2006. My most recent one is a collaboration with Groundswell youth at 11 Howard Street in SoHo, the site of Aby Rosen’s latest hotel venture.
You’re also a prolific painter of smaller works – from works on paper to paintings on huge canvases. Have you exhibited your works in gallery settings?
Yes! I’ve exhibited throughout NYC in a range of spaces from CATM in Chelsea and Tambaran on the Upper East Side to a variety of alternative venues.
Do you have a formal arts education? And was it worthwhile?
Yes, I have a BFA in Design and Illustration from Pratt. And, yes, as I learned how to problem solve through creative means.
Are there any particular cultures that have influenced your aesthetic?
I spent my first seven years in the Ukraine, and was definitely influenced by social realism. Other influences include: graffiti in its heyday; Japanese prints; abstract expressionism; traditional mural painting and German expressionism.
What about artists? Any particular influences?
Among the many artists whose aesthetic has influenced me are: Diego Rivera, Klimt and Egon Schiele.
Do you prefer working alone or collaborating with others?
I used to prefer working alone, but lately I’ve become more open to collaboration. I recently collaborated with Chris Soria.
If you could collaborate with any artist – alive or deceased – with whom would you collaborate?
Picasso – all day every day – and Max Ernst.
How does your family feel about what you are doing?
They love it! None of them are artists, but they all love what I am doing!
What percentage of your time is devoted to art?
Pretty much all of it.
Is art the main source of your income?
Yes, the money I earn from commissions, along with income from teaching mural-making and art sales. I’ve also begun working on fashion design.
How you feel about the role of the Internet in this scene?
It’s everything! Without the Internet I’d be nowhere.
Are you generally satisfied with your finished work?
I think so. But the question is: Is anything ever really finished?
How has your artwork evolved in the past few years?
By leaps and bounds! I’m much more comfortable than I used to be with different styles. My visual language has become more confident.
As your work on the streets is largely commissioned murals, have you run into any conflicts with street artists or graffiti writers?
On occasion. While painting a commissioned wall down in DC, for example, I was approached by graffiti writers who told me that the wall was theirs. When I explained to them what I was doing and they saw my work in progress, they came around.
What do you see as the role of the artist in society?
I see my role as to reflect on our times, while bringing a strong aesthetic sensibility back into a largely conceptual realm.
What’s ahead?
Everything! Taking over the art world!
That’s quite ambitious! Are there any particular projects we can look forward to?
I am currently painting an anti-gun violence mural in conjunction with BRIC, and I will soon begin working on a mural with Groundswell youth at Stapleton in Staten Island. And opening tonight and continuing through March 31 is The Internal Muse, a selection of my new paintings at Melet Mercantile at 84 Wooster Street in SoHo.
It all sounds great! Congratulations!
Interview conducted by Lois Stavsky with Tara Murray
Photo credits: 1 & 2 courtesy Lindsey Brown McLravy | SLATE PR; 3, 5 & 6 Lois Stavsky; 4 Tara Murray
Note: Hailed in a range of media from the Huffington Post to the New York Times, our Street Art NYC App is now available here for Android devices.
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This is the tenth in an occasional series of posts featuring the range of faces have surfaced in NYC public spaces:
Chilean artist Otto Schade with JMZ Walls in Bushwick, Brooklyn
Luis Rosenfeld in Bushwick, Brooklyn
Brown Boyz — Don Rimx, Ricardo Cabret, LNY, Alex Seel and Mata Ruda — in Bushwick, Brooklyn
Dasic with the Bushwick Collective on Manhattan’s Lower East Side
Sonni in Bushwick, Brooklyn
Mast and Logik with the Welling Court Mural Project in Astoria, Queens
Beau Stanton with the L.I.S.A Project on Manhattan’s Lower East Side
Chris Soria, lead artist, with DonChristian Jones and Groundswell youth in Brownsville, Brooklyn — since 2013
Note: Our highly acclaimed Street Art NYC App is now available for Android devices here.
Photo credits: 1, 2 & 6 Lois Stavsky; 3 – 5 Dani Reyes Mozeson; 7 & 8 Tara Murray
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In his highly acclaimed book Graffiti Murals: Exploring the Impacts of Street Art, free-lance writer and photographer Patrick Verel presents six case studies, along with dozens of photographs, exploring the role of sanctioned graffiti murals and street art in the urban environment. I recently met up with him and had the opportunity to ask him a few questions:
What spurred your interest in this topic?
I was always into graffiti. I have a short attention span, and I love being surprised! Cities stimulate me and graffiti is part of that stimulation.
How did this initial interest evolve into a book?
I never thought I’d actually write a book. It developed from the thesis that I wrote when I was enrolled in Fordam University’s Urban Studies Master’s Program.
You focus on six cases from the South Bronx to Trenton, New Jersey. How did you connect to all of the folks whom you interviewed?
I sent out lots of emails after poking around the Internet. And I made some of the connections via my Flickr contacts — like the photographer Luna Park, who hooked me up with Robots Will Kill.
What were some of the obstacles you encountered while doing your research?
Getting people to talk to me and synthesizing all of the information.
You seem to have accomplished that quite well! What — would you say – was the mission of your book?
To change the way so many people think about graffiti. To introduce them to the positive benefits of graffiti murals in enhancing the urban environment.
Are there any particular factors that assure the success of these interventions?
So much depends upon the owner of the space and his relationship with the artists. That owner must be able to trust the artists to do what they want. And a successful collaboration demands money, effort and time.
Were there any unexpected outcomes following the publication of the book?
Yes! I received a positive response from City Government, and I connected to Natalie Raben of the Lower East Side BID and the 100 GATES Program.
Have you noticed any changes in the graffiti/street art since you wrote your book?
There seem to be more projects, like the Bushwick Collective and the Welling Court Mural Project, that give artists legal opportunities to paint outdoors.
Published by Schiffer Publishing, Graffiti Murals: Exploring the Impacts of Street Art, is available online and in most bookstores.
Interview by Lois Stavsky
Photos of murals by Patrick Verel
1. Book cover, Lank completes mural he painted with Delve, Luv1 and Casso in Jersey City
2. Wallnuts mural in Gowanus with Dos, Chester, Muse, Been3 and Werc
3. 5Pointz in LIC with Meres, Zimad and more
4. Robots Will Kill in Bushwick with Chris, Veng, Peeta, Never & ECB
5. Taste, Mek, Evak, Sno Reo & Zoe at TerraCycle in Trenton, NJ
Note: Our highly acclaimed Street Art NYC App is now available here at Google Play for Android devices.
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This is the ninth in a series of occasional posts featuring images of children that have surfaced on NYC public spaces:
Also by Ernest Zacharevic with Martha Cooper, huge segment of mural at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center — with the Bushwick Collective
Icy & Sot in Bushwick
Priscila De Carvalho in Bushwick
Joe Iurato and Logan Hicks, as seen at the Bushwick Collective awhile back.
Anthony Lister with the the Bushwick Collective
Photo Credits: 1, 2 & 4 Tara Murray; 3, 5 & 6 Lois Stavsky
Note: The highly acclaimed Street Art NYC App is now available here at Google Play for Android devices.
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This is the 17th in an occasional series of posts featuring images of girls — and women — who grace NYC public spaces:
Swoon in Red Hook
JR in the East Village
Gabriel Pitcher in Bushwick
Panmela Castro with Opni in the Bronx
Ramiro Davaro with JMZ Walls in Bushwick
Anthony Lister in Bushwick
Close-up of Lister’s ballerina
Photo credits: 1 & 2 Tara Murray; 3-5 Lois Stavsky, and 6 & 7 Dani Reyes Mozeson
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This is the eighth in a series of occasional posts featuring some of the curious characters that surface on NYC streets:
Mike Lee in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Werc, close-up in Long Island City
Elle and the London Police on Manhattan’s Lower East Side
Buff Monster at the Bushwick Collective
Binho in Long Island City
Esteban del Valle at Welling Court in Astoria, Queens
Photo credits: 1, 3 & 5 Dani Reyes Mozeson; 2, 4 & 6 Lois Stavsky
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A vibrant art scene has begun to emerge in Miami’s largely industrial Hialeah neighborhood. What follows are a few more murals — all painted by Miami-based artists — that greeted me there on my recent visit:
Miami-based Diana Contreras aka Didi Rok
First image was painted by Juan Travieso
Photos by Lois Stavsky
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What follows are a few more images representative of the wonderfully diverse range of murals gracing Wynwood Walls:
Chinese-born DALeast
West Coast-based Cryptik
South African artist Faith47
Baltimore-based Gaia
Bronx-based John Matos aka Crash
Lithuanian born Ernest Zacharevic
Photos by Lois Stavsky
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