On his recent brief visit to New York City, Sheffield-based artist Phlegm transformed the visual landscape of a Chelsea playground — adjacent to a public housing project on West 17th Street. We can’t get enough of it!
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New York City
We are continually amazed by the diverse range of art that makes its way onto Bushwick walls. Here are a few we visited – or revisited – this past week:
Brooklyn-based Swoon
Russia’s Concrete Jungle
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For the past two years the Yok’s wondrous characters have been gracing the walls of New York City. We recently posed a few questions to the Yok:
We are thrilled that you have been so active in NYC. What brought you here?
I had always wanted to see New York. It’s where all this rap/spray business began, so I wanted to see it for myself.
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This is the second in an occasional series of artwork on NYC shutters by both local artists and those visiting from across the globe:
Canadian Troy Lovegates aka Other on Manhattan’s Lower East Side
Chilean Native Cekis @ Welling Court in Astoria, Queens
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Cake’s poignantly elegant women have been part of New York City’s visual landscape for the past five years. Earlier this month, three large ones surfaced on East Third Street off the Bowery. Soon after, we posed the following questions to Cake:
Your women have been captivating us for years. They are at once beguiling and perturbing. Are they women you know? Tell us something about them.
These women are all women I know and care about. They are: my mother, my sister, my niece, my Grandma Olga, my friend, Emily, and girlfriends of friends. And a lot of the time, some of the women end up having a part of me in them, which can’t be helped, as they all – somehow – feel autobiographical. I rarely paint men, but when I do, it’s usually my brother, Jeffrey.
At what point did you choose to use the streets as a canvas? And why did you decide to do so?
Right when I was finished with grad school, I joined in on the street stuff. It was pretty immediate and was just what I needed at that time. It was a place where I felt at home, and it was fun and natural. I haven’t wanted to leave since.
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Brooklyn-based artist See One has been busy gracing a huge wall outside the Running Rebel Studios at 6 Charles Place in Bushwick with his distinct aesthetic. Earlier this week, we caught up with him in his studio and had the opportunity to ask him a few questions.
When did you first start getting up in public spaces?
I was 17 living in Florida. We moved from Queens when I was 10, but graffiti had already had its impact on me. It had slowly worked its way into my blood.
What motivated you to hit the walls?
I started drawing when I was two years old. All the walls and floors of our home bore the markings of my oil-based crayons. As I grew older, I focused on black books, but wanted to go bigger and bigger and reach more people. Hitting huge walls was a natural progression.
What was your style like at the time?
When I first started getting up, my letters were good but I was really into characters. I’ve always loved cartoons.
How has your style evolved?
I wanted my art to stand out. I have an overactive imagination. I’ve always drawn characters but needed a secondary distinct style. I call the style “Shards” because it reminds me of broken shards of glass. This evolved into a style of abstract graffiti, my current focus.
How did you get your name?
My first tag was Focus, because I always needed glasses to focus. But I didn’t quite like the ring to it. So I took my birth date, 10/19, and in Roman numerals, the first three numbers are written CI. This became See One.
Have you had any formal art education?
No. I was never really good at school. I am self-taught.
Who or what have been your main influences?
My main influences have always been comic books, character design, and early graffiti. Japanese animation has also had a strong impact on my aesthetic. And, of course, comic books like X-Men, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Bone were among my first inspirations.
Any favorite artists?
Many, many. Among the comic artists: Joe Mad, J. Scott Campbell and Jeff Smith. In graff: Seen, FX Crew, Futura, Cost and Revs. Among street artists, my favorites include: Space Invader, D’Face and London Police. I also love Tomokazu Matsuyama and Takashi Murakami.
Any artists you’ve recently checked out?
I’m looking forward to seeing Doze Green’s work at the Jonathan LeVine Gallery and I’m also into Remi Rough and anything by Jose Parla.
What about galleries? We’ve seen your work at Mighty Tanaka and at Dorian Grey. How do you feel about the gallery scene?
I used to hate it because it seems to be all about who you know. I’m getting used to it, but I wish it were easier to get my work into galleries. It’s difficult to get a response from most galleries.
You seem to fuse both graffiti and street art elements into your pieces. Have you any thoughts about the graffiti/street art divide?
I think of Street Art as Graffiti’s little brother. A first-rate graffiti writer has to have the ability to improvise skillfully on a variety of surfaces while enduring the risks of getting up. Most street artists do their work in a studio setting and face far fewer risks in pasting their work up or stenciling it onto surfaces. Like most little brothers, Street Art is resented by his big brother, Graffiti, and his big brother’s friends.
Interesting! ‘will have to think about that! Have you ever been arrested?
No. I’m semi-careful. I’ll usually find a lookout when I can.
Have you collaborated with any artists?
My most recent collaboration was with 2Esae and Ski of URNewYork.
How do you see yourself in the future?
My goal is to grow and attain recognition as an artist, so that I can have the means to further develop my vision and reach a larger audience with my work.
Images courtesy of the artist and Lenny Collado
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While walking along East First Street off First Avenue early this year, we were delighted to come upon a huge trailer transformed into a vibrant outdoor canvas. In the past few months, this same trailer has featured the works of some of NYC’s best-known street artists such as Claw Money and Optimo Primo, along with images fashioned by artists who rarely paint or exhibit in public spaces.
Last week we had the chance to observe some of NYC’s most active street artists at work on the trailer and meet some others whose work was new to us. We also discovered that these artists were at work on Cycle 3 of The Centre-Fuge Art Project conceived by First Street residents Pebbles Russell and Jonathan Neville in memory of their friend, Mike Hamm.
Here are some images from Cycle 3:
Brooklyn-based artist Danielle Mastrion pays homage to Adam Yauch aka MCA, a founding member of the legendary Beastie Boys.
Local illustrator and graphic designer Michael DeNicola brings an eerie family abroad.
Thanks to Bishop203 and Elle, Brooklyn’s iconic character arrives on the scene.
The prolific Fumero whose distinct aesthetic can be seen on walls throughout NYC brings a slice of paradise to First Street.
Brooklyn-based visual and performance artist Jade Fusco, aka DMZL, graces the trailer with an array of quirky creatures.
And designer, graffiti writer and fine artist CRAM Concepts (center) honors all moms — just in time for Mothers Day.
Cycle 3 of Centre-fuge will be on view until July 12th, 2012.
Photos by Lenny Collado, Tara Murray & Street Art, NYC
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Huge fans of Jaye Moon’s beguiling Lego installations that surface throughout NYC, we are delighted that two new ones have made their way to Chelsea streets this past week.
“Jerry” alludes to influential NYC-based art critic, Jerry Saltz:
And one more variation of the artist’s signature houses constructed from Lego and Plexiglas:
Images courtesy of the artist
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While in Manhattan’s Chelsea district and Brooklyn’s DUMBO this past month, we came upon captivating mini-homes constructed from Lego pieces perched onto trees We discovered that they are the works of the internationally acclaimed Brooklyn-based artist, Jaye Moon. Delighted that she had chosen to share her vision with us passersby, we posed a few questions to her:
Why do you choose to share your work with passersby in the public sphere?
I have been creating sculptures made out of Legos and Plexiglas such as suitcases, lunchboxes, containers, and drawers with living spaces inside.
My theme is about portable and instant living in the contemporary world. As an extension of my art project, I wanted to create urban landscapes that integrate actual architecture and nature with Lego bricks to share my ideas with the public.
Do they generally last? How do you feel when they don’t?
Sometime they last for a long time. Actually it depends on where I install them. If the locations are conventional, they are gone quickly. However, I don’t feel bad about that, because I want my work to function as mobile homes that can be taken away for their own purposes. Even though I don’t know how long they will last, I always make sure to leave enough spaces for trees to grow.
Why do you choose to work with Lego pieces?
Our lifestyles are portable and instant, and I am interested in creating modern architecture that reflects this. For me, Lego bricks are the perfect objects for they are associated with architectural forms, as they are ready-made — based on industrial and mechanical functions. These days we are trying to create universal living conditions that fit in anywhere — for anybody. The concept of Lego blocks is fitting for our mass-produced consumer culture, which I believe will continue to be our cultural trend in the future.
My tree houses also remind us of those homes that people sometimes wrap with cloth in the winter to protect them from cold weather, and viewers can also see the bricks’ primary colors sticking out from the green leaves before noticing that they are just plastic blocks.
Have you noticed folks’ reactions to your pieces as they pass them by? What kinds of responses have they elicited?
As soon as people pass by my work, they seem to feel connected with my projects, because they are made out of Legos. Toys are universal and innocent and bring people nostalgia of childhood memories. Someone said that he wants to climb up the tree house and fit inside. I see people with big smiles when they pass by my work, and that makes me happy.
What’s interesting is that every time I revisit the sites, I discover that something has been changed. Sometimes the doors are opened or closed. Sometimes bricks are missing; other times, people actually add their own bricks to the tree houses. I learned that people’s interactions recreate the shapes of the tree houses so they’re no longer my projects alone. This is what’s great about public art.
Outdoor photos by Street Art, NYC and Lenny Collado; Highrise II. 2007, courtesy of Newman Popiashvili Gallery
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A number of years back, a robot-like stick-figure began to migrate from the streets of Philadelphia, where it was conceived, to New York City. Little is known about its creator, who sometimes goes by the name “Bob,” other than that he’s continually devising variations of his iconic character and sharing them with us. Sometimes stenciled onto sidewalks, other times pasted onto walls and often installed as a wooden 3-D character, Sti(c)kman maintains a consistent presence on the streets of NYC.
We first started noticing him in lower Manhattan where we were intrigued by his endless variations.
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