Stickers are having their day! Just about any walk through any of NYC’s five boroughs is certain to delight the sticker aficionados among us. Featured above is the ubiquitous Cheer Up. Several more stickers seen on my meanderings around the streets of the Big Apple follow:
Chris RWK (bottom) collabo w/anonymous artist and another artist to be identified
Doaz and Zero Productivity collabo
Eye Sticker goes blue in Brooklyn!
Roycer and Matt Siren
Photos: Lois Stavsky
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Colombian American artist Felix Morelo is increasingly engaging and provoking passersby with his intriguing ephemeral chalk spots that surface in some of New York City’s most trafficked sites. We were delighted to recently have the opportunity to pose a few questions to the artist.
When and where did you first hit NYC streets with your spirited chalk spots?
I began in the summer of 2009 with a “Good Luck Spot” in Union Square.
What spurred you to do so?
I was originally painting thousands of faces – mostly of children — on the city’s sidewalks. I thought of these faces as a community of spiritual seeds. An artist friend suggested that I take my concept further. I then came up with the idea of chalk spots that would directly engage the community.
And why did you continue working with this concept?
I felt that what I was doing was unique. I loved that people began interacting with my public art and with each other. And I liked the recognition I was getting!
Were there any responses to your street art that particularly stand out?
For the most part, people embraced and enjoyed the “Good Luck Spots.” I began experiencing negative feedback after I started drawing “Bad Luck Spots.” What stood out were the threatening email messages that I received from people who wanted to harm me.
Yes. We are curious about both your “Bad Luck Spots” and your “Suicide Spots.” What prompted you to create your first “Bad Luck Spot?”
At the time I was drawing “Good Luck Spots,” I myself was having a lot of bad luck. I was dealing with homelessness, joblessness and the loss of a partner. Creating “Bad Luck Spots” was cathartic for me, as it helped me get these bad feelings out of my system. Drawing both “Good Luck Spots” and “Bad Luck” ones reflect life itself – its yin and yang.
What about your “Suicide Spots?” They seem to have spurred quite a bit of controversy.
It’s a matter of free speech. Chalk isn’t permanent. I like the way these controversial spots stir debate and reflection. People’s reactions to them give me insight into human psychology.
Have you ever felt unsafe while drawing your spots on the streets?
I sometimes feel unsafe when I’m looking down. The worst thing that happened, though, was when someone threw water on me and then got in my face.
Besides the wide variety of spots you presently create, do you do anything differently now from when you first started using the street as a canvas?
When I began, I worked only with skinny white chalk. Three years ago, I tried drawing with thick colored chalk, and I liked the results. The colors spice up the message and more readily capture people’s attention.
How do you choose the sites for your spots?
I look for places where I can attract the most people and a certain type of people — those who are eager to engage and are open to new experiences.
Where else – besides New York City – have you drawn your spots?
I’ve drawn these spots in many places. Among them Colombia, Ecuador, Miami, Indianapolis. Cincinnati and Kentucky. I’d like to bring them to London.
What’s ahead?
I’ve participated in dozens of group exhibitions in a wide range of spaces, but I’m ready now for a solo exhibition in a gallery setting. I’m also in the process of collaborating with 10 different artists, and I would like to see those pieces exhibited together. And, of course, I’ll still be active on the streets conjuring new “spots,” to be drawn alongside the original “Good Luck Spots.”
Good luck with it all! We are looking forward to seeing your artwork both on the streets and in galleries. We love viewing it here on East 23 Street — both inside and outside Epiphany Library NYPL.
Interview conducted by Lois Stavsky and Tara Murray
Photo credits: 1-3, 5 & 6 Lois Stavsky and 4 Tara Murray
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This past May, a wonderfully diverse group of artists brought their skills to South Street Seaport, marking the third year that the You Are Not Alone community-based art project curated a huge 160 ft long wall in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month. These murals’ message of hope is particularly timely this month, September — National Suicide Prevention Month. Featured above is the work of the Washington Heights-based graphic designer and illustrator Yuma York. Several more images from this year’s You Are Not Alone Murals Project 2024 at the Seaport follow:
Detroit-based designer and hand lettering artist Lauren Hom
Local street artist and animator Sara Lynne Leo
NYC-based multi-disciplinary artist, designer and typographer Juan Carlos Pagan
Sydney, Australia-born, NYC-based multidisciplinary artist Vexta
New Jersey-based hand-lettering artist and muralist Olga Muzician
Brooklyn-based muralist, teaching artist and illustrator Peach Tao
British multi-disciplinary artist David Puck
Launched in 2019,You Are Not Alone Murals was founded by multimedia artist and art director Annica Lydenberg aka Dirty Bandits and Samantha Schutz, mental health advocate and the author of the highly acclaimed memoir I Don’t Want to Be Crazy.
And do remember, “You are not alone!” If you or someone you care about is in need of support or information, help is available from the National Alliance on Mental Illness. The NAMI HelpLine can be reached Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.–8 p.m., ET. 1-800-950-NAMI (6264).
Note: Find out here about You Are Not Alone Murals’ first annual t-shirt collaboration and fundraiser!
Photos of artworks, Lois Stavsky
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On the occasion of Boone Avenue Walls‘ tenth anniversary, dozens of artists brought their remarkable skills and styles to the Bronx neighborhoods of West Farms and Hunts Point. This is Part II of our two-part series documenting this year’s extraordinary Boone Avenue Walls Annual Festival, founded and curated by veteran Bronx writer WEN COD. The image featured above was painted by Brooklyn writer Minus One. Several more images — all captured by street art/graffiti aficionada Kristy Calabro — follow:
Bronx-based artist and educator Lola Lovenotes
OTM Graff Crew member Image
The legendary Bronx-based artist John Matos aka Crash.
West Coast-based artist and curator Espy
Bronx-born writer and textile artist MRS
Florida-based muralist and writer Ric One
Brooklyn-based stylemaster Roachi
Photos: Kristy Calabro
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On the occasion of Boone Avenue Walls‘ tenth anniversary, dozens of local, national, and international artists brought their remarkable skills and diverse styles to the Bronx neighborhoods of West Farms and Hunts Point. The image featured above was painted by the legendary Bronx-born graffiti pioneer Chris “Daze” Ellis. Several more images of the completed murals — all captured by street art/graffiti aficionada Kristy Calabro — follow in this first of a two-part series documenting this year’s extraordinary Boone Avenue Walls,
Bronx-bred artist El Souls
Canada-born, Bronx-based artist, curator and arts educator Lady K Fever
London-based veteran writer Corze
The inventive 3Modes aka Professor M
Queens native graffiti writer and fashion designer Claw Money
Queens-born and based artist Belowkey,
The remarkable, ever-expanding Boone Avenue Walls was founded and is curated by the veteran Bronx writer WEN COD.
Photos: Kristy Calabro
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On Thursday, August 22nd, First Street Green Art Park once again hosted a Landmark Festival event under the curatorial direction of the indefatigable Kath Storch. Murals by established artists who had painted on huge canvases earlier in the month were once again displayed, while artists painted alongside them. The vibrant mural featured above was crafted by the wildly talented Lower East Side-based artist Doves. What follows are several more images captured during the event by photographer Ana Candelaria.
French artist Jaek El Diablo at work
Jaek El Diablo, Mural on canvas
Veteran graffiti pioneer and designer Stash with Shiro‘s characters to the right and left
Queens legends Jerms and Topaz paint the renowned rapper/producer Large Professor
NYC-based, Japanese hip-hop culture enthusiast and artist Shiro
Bronx-born and bred Andre Trenier
Photos: Ana Candelaria
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Dozens of first-rate writers and muralists from NYC and beyond brought their tantalizing talents to East Harlem’s 44th annual Graffiti Hall of Fame this past weekend. Walls and cubes fashioned in a wide range of styles graced the now-lengendary schoolyard on 106th Street and Park Avenue. The dynamic production pictured above was painted by graff masters Delta, Syerok, Taste One, Blaze and Part One, Several more images of artworks captured this past Sunday afternoon follow:
Graffiti veteran Skeme also known as 3 Yard King
BedStuy Walls co-founder and curator Miki Mu
The wonderfully talented NJ-based Will Power does the late Nic 707
NYC-based, Japan-born hip-hop culture enthusiast and artist Shiro
East Harlem-based, Sweden-born graffiti writer and graphic designer Scratch
Harlem-based Brazilian American multidisciplinary artist Phes at work
The masterly Queens-based artist Chris Cortes
The prolific Bronx-born graffiti writer Cope 2 in collaboration with French artist Jaek El Diablo
Note: Keep posted to the Street Art NYC Instagram and Threads for more images of artworks that surfaced in this year’s Graffiti Hall of Fame.
Photo credits: 1-6 & 9, Sara C Mozeson; 7 & 8, Ana Candelaria
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On the final weekend of June, the now-legendary Welling Court Mural Project launched its 14th Annual Street Art Festival in Astoria, Queens under the curatorial direction of Alison C. Wallis. Photographer Ana Candelaria was there to capture the action and share it with us. Featured above is the famed graffiti pioneer and graphic designer Stash at work on a wall painted collaboratively as a tribute to the late innovative graffiti writer Col Wallnuts. Several more images — all courtesy of Ana Candelaria — follow:
The prolific veteran writer Wane at work
Graffiti artist and designer Epic Uno at work
Bronx-based painter and art educator Depoh at work
Brooklyn-based artist and BEDSTUY WALLS founder & co-curator Miki Mu at work with mural by East Harlem-based Scratch to her left
Artist and educator Katie Reidy at work celebrating the “rise of the woman”
The hugely inventive Sweden-based artist Delicious Brains bringing his talents to NYC
More walls will be beautifying Welling Court and its nearby blocks in early fall. Sign up here to stay informed regarding upcoming events and volunteer opportunities.
Photos by Ana Candelaria
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Continuing through February 23, 2025 at the Saar Historical Museum in Saarbrücken, Germany, is “ILLEGAL. Street Art Graffiti 1960 – 1995,” the first museum exhibition anywhere to focus solely on illegal graffiti. I recently had the opportunity to pose a few questions to its curator, Dr. Ulrich Blanché, a Heidelberg University art historian who specializes in global graffiti and street art.
When did you first become interested in illegal markings? And what ignited your interest at the time?
Growing up in a house in the middle of nowhere in Bavaria with no neighbors within a kilometer, I was an easy victim for anything urban – ruin porn, street art, graffiti. While studying in Australia, my friend Shanu told me about stencils and Banksy. I was hooked.
What are some of the principal factors that motivated you to curate this exhibit?
My spirit of contradiction. Many street art and graffiti surveys act as if illegal art on the street is something that comes exclusively from NYC and Paris. As if the rest of the world was a blank canvas before we were enlightened/colonized by US street art and style writing graffiti. Unfortunately, many US/UK researchers/curators seem to read only English sources. And it seemed appealing to me to counter the old accusation that illegal street art and graffiti cannot be shown in a museum. Hence: an exhibition with only illegal works. I did not show the usual thing – new, legal works that barely survive on the old illegal street credibility of their creators.
Can you tell us something about the process of curating it? What were some of your main challenges?
People seem to love “originals,” — whatever that is actually. One challenge was that there were often hardly any preserved illegally created originals, or you would have to spend a fortune to transport them. Another main challenge was that I was on my own in the curation process and in approaching artists/collectors. I missed student assistants I had worked with before.
How did you decide which artworks/artists to feature in the exhibition?
I tried to identify the earliest ones and the game changers. If the show would travel, I would include some more, for instance Flint Gennari (NYC), Valie Export (Vienna), SZ group (Moscow) and Tsang Tsou-Choi (Hong Kong). I tried to rewrite street art history in some cases – Brazilian stencil graffiti artist Alex Vallauri was earlier and had more impact worldwide in the early 1980’s than Blek le Rat. Art punk stencils by Crass influenced Banksy and Robert del Naja before they had even heard about Blek. There was a worldwide illegal street sticker campaign before OBEY, done by Cavellini from the 1970s onwards, etc. Among my other discoveries were 10 unknown SAMO© graffiti from 1979 in NYC and the first guy from Germany interested in Keith Haring. So new things about old hats and newly found old things that challenge street art or graffiti history — at least in details. Graffiti is not just style writing from NYC; we also show L.A. Cholo graffiti, Philly graffiti or Pichação from Brazil – not all are common in overview shows. I tried to show large works so they can appeal in a physical way, and I tried to show developments on walls, not just work in mint condition, photographed the second the artist drops the can.
What is the central focus of the exhibition?
The concept is “hits and rarities.” To give an overview from the 50’s until the 90’s. I tried to identify the earliest examples, the ones who had a huge impact and some who should have had more impact. We start with Guy Debord, Ted Joans and of course Brassaï and end with Banksy’s first documented work on the street. We’re putting a spotlight on the Paris-Cologne-Zurich triangle because a lot was happening there and because the museum is in the middle of these cities, and another spotlight on the connections between street art, graffiti and music.
What would you like your viewers to walk away with?
I’d like the viewers to walk away with the thought that street art and graffiti did not start with Banksy. And that street art and graffiti stem not only from protest art or gang graffiti; it is far more complex. An audience interested in contemporary art would be amazed how many familiar names worked illegally, too: Christo/Jeanne Claude, Walter Dahn, George Condo, Valie Export, Daniel Buren, etc. Conceptual art, performance art, pop art, Fluxus, Mail Art are deeply interconnected with what we call street art today. And that early street art graffiti was more female than you’d expect.
How has the response been to the exhibit to date?
We were on German national TV and radio with the exhibition, as well as on several local and regional media. The response was very positive. Saarbrücken, however, is not Hamburg or Berlin. I think the bilingual catalog and the 3D scan of the show will reach quite a few people internationally, as well. For myself, it is great when people like Daim, Chaz Bojorguez and John Fekner say it is a great show!
Images:
1. Bando and Doc in Paris, 1984; photo, Claude Abron
2. CanTwo in Wiesbaden, 1988; photo, CanTwo
3. Alex Vallauri in Lower Manhattan, ca. 1982-1983; photo, Claudia Vallauri
4. Vampirella in Amsterdan, 1985; photo, Vaselka M aka Vampirella
5. Book cover featuring Vampirella, photo, Vaselka M aka Vampirella
Interview with Dr. Ulrich Blanché by Lois Stavsky
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On the weekend of June 15, First Street Green Art Park was home to dozens of legendary artists, first-rate photographers, and graffiti aficionados as they came together to pay tribute to Fun Gallery co-founder Patti Astor, who had passed away in April. The first art gallery in Manhattan’s East Village to feature the works of such noted artists as Futura 2000, Lady Pink, Lee Quinones, Kenny Scharf, Keith Haring, and Jean-Michel Basquiat, Fun Gallery ran out of a small storefront but had enormous impact.
The mural featured above was painted by 5POINTZ founder and the wonderfully versatile artist Meres One. Several more images captured last week in this event curated by Kate Storch, Jimmy NYC and Crime79 follow:
Lower East Side native and former Keith Haring collaborator Angel Ortiz aka LA2
Veteran writer Dezo, TC5 with Kate Storch on left
The prolific Japanese writer, muralist and designer Shiro One
Uptown-based designer, painter and muralist Al Ruiz
The legendary graffiti pioneer Stash
Veteran East Harlem-native writer and painter Delta2
NYC-based photographer Matthew A Eller, Segment from larger wall of photos featuring Patti Astor in a range of settings
Photos: Lois Stavsky
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