A visit to the South Bronx neighborhood of Hunts Point this past Monday led to the discovery of some of its recently-surfaced graffiti murals. Here is a sampling:
All photos by Tara Murray
{ 2 comments }
Co-owned by artists Sarah Wang and Shaina Yang, City Bird is a creative space recently launched on the Lower East Side. While visiting its current exhibit Natural High yesterday, I had the opportunity to speak to Shaina Yang and find out a bit about the gallery and its mission.
I love the eclectic mix of art in this exhibit. Can you tell us something about City Bird’s mission?
We see ourselves as a unique space in which we are free to unleash our creativity in a playful manner. There is no one to tell us what to create or how to create it. It is up to us — the artists!
When was City Bird born?
Our inaugural exhibit opened on November 7. It was curated by the Under1roof Project.
Many of the artists on exhibit – such as Kingbee, Wizard Skull and Dek 2DX— are also active on the streets. How did you meet each other?
Many of us know each other from the collective, Con Artist, and many of Con Artist’s members also get up on the streets. Lady Millard’s Under1roof Project also brought us together in a collaborative manner. Basically, it was friends and friends of friends!
I’d imagine that renting and maintaining a space like this on the Lower East Side could be expensive. How do you raise the money to do this?
When there are no exhibits here, we rent out the space to pop-up shows, poetry readings and a range of creative events.
What’s ahead?
A mix of imaginative exhibits featuring work by a range of artists, including street artists. We are already booked through the spring. You are in for some surprises!
City Bird is located at 191 Henry Street on Manhattan’s Lower East Side.
Images:
1. Pablo Power
2. Chris Mendoza, close-up
3. Lady Millard, close-up
4. Kingbee
5. Wizard Skull
6, Dek 2DX
First image courtesy of the gallery; all others photographed by Lois Stavsky
{ 1 comment }
This is the tenth in a series of occasional posts featuring the diverse range of trucks and vans that strike our streets.
Photos: 1 by Dani Reyes Mozeson; 2-4, 6 & 7 by Lois Stavsky; 5 by Lenny Collado aka BK Lenny and 8 by Tara Murray
{ 0 comments }
A graffiti writer and b-boy back in the 70’s, California-based Doze Green crafts extraordinary artwork that exudes all the energy, exuberance and irreverence of the New York City streets that were once his. Out of Nowhere, his current exhibit and fifth solo show at Jonathan LeVine, continues through Saturday at 557C West 23rd Street. Here are a few more images:
Set with Osirian Strap (Penis Envy), mixed media on canvas
Napoleon Bonefart, mixed media on wood
H Thrice, mixed-media on canvas
The Initiate, mixed media on canvas
The Jonathan LeVine Gallery is open from 11am to 6pm.
Photos of images by Dani Reyes Mozeson; first image is Prophet in the Desert, mixed-media on canvas
{ 0 comments }
Earlier this fall, the Dodworth Street Mural art project began a wondrous transformation of the area on and around Dodworth Street between Bushwick Avenue and Broadway. Here are just a few of the murals that have surfaced:
Eelco ’Virus’ Van den Berg, Rocko and Vera Times
Miss Zukie and Lexi Bella
Col Wallnuts, Marthalicia, BK, Damien Mitchell & Edob LOV3
Photo credits: 1, 3 – 5 Lois Stavsky; 2 & 6 Dani Reyes Mozeson
{ 1 comment }
This is the sixth in a series of occasional posts featuring images of children that surface on NYC public spaces:
Jerkface in the East Village
Axel Void in East Harlem
Billy Mode and Chris Stain at the Bushwick Collective
Damien Mitchell at the Bushwick Collective
Enzo and Nio in Williamsburg
Banksy on the Upper West Side
Jef Aerosol at the Bushwick Collective
Razo and Dead Rat on the Lower East Side
Photo 1, 3 – 6 by Dani Reyes Mozeson; 2, 7 & 8 by Lois Stavsky
{ 1 comment }
Moving Murals: Henry Chalfant & Martha Cooper’s All-City Graffiti Archive, a mosaic of 850 wall images of subway graffiti photographed by Chalfant — along with a series of Martha Cooper’s artist portraits — continues through this Thursday, December 18 at 4pm. A homage to the boundless creativity of the graffiti artists whose talents and passions paved the way to the global street art movement, Moving Murals is the first exhibit to grace the City Lore Gallery at 56 East 1st Street.
Another close-up from Henry Chalfant collage, featuring the legendary Iz the Wiz
Martha Cooper’s portraits
Including such contemporaries as Lady Aiko (top left)
And next Saturday, December 20, 12pm – 6pm, you will have the opportunity to take home one of Henry Chalfant’s graffiti train prints as City Lore will be offering Chalfant’s train photographs from the Moving Murals exhibit with each membership purchased. Membership begins at $35. Hot cider and a variety of gifts by local NYC artists will also be available for sale at the City Lore Store.
Final photo courtesy of City Lore; photos of Henry Chalfant’s installation by Lois Stavsky; of Martha Cooper’s by Dani Reyes Mozeson
{ 0 comments }
Currently based in Brooklyn, New York, Genea Barnes began exhibiting her artful photography in 2005. Her current work has taken her into the streets of over 50 cities where she has photographed hundreds of ghost bikes.
When and where did you begin photographing ghost bikes?
I saw my first ghost bike in Brooklyn in May 2010. It struck me. It felt like someone had punched me in the chest. That was the first ghost bike I photographed. I’ve since traveled to over 50 cities photographing them.
Why — do you suppose — you became so committed to this project?
I feel a special connection to these bikes. I am taken by their intense beauty. Their impact was — and still is — tremendous on me. They remind us of lives that were lost and they remind us to keep safe. I knew, at once, that I wanted not only to photograph them, but to share my findings with others.
Have you any particular message you would like your photos to convey?
I am frustrated by people’s lack of spatial awareness. A ghost bike represents the most grievous outcome of this. A ghost bike, like much of street art, is a way to call people out. We must all start paying closer attention to our surroundings.
Why a book?
I had always hoped that my art would make a difference…that it would raise awareness. And after my first exhibit of ghost bike images, I knew that it could. Not everyone will attend an exhibit, but anyone can check out a book and, hopefully, be moved by it. We are so distracted by technology that we often forget to pay attention to our surroundings. And the outcome of that can be fatal.
You can find out more about Genea’s remarkable photography project here and help fund her book at her Kickstarter here.
{ 3 comments }
Currently based in Bogota, Colombia, the Australian artist CRISP continues to bring his vision to a range of spaces throughout the globe. We met up with him on his recent visit to NYC.
When did you first start painting on public surfaces? And where?
I’m a late bloomer, as back in Australia and during my time in the UK, I was mostly into sculpting and drawing. But when I moved to Bogota, I became very interested in getting my art out in the street. That was over five years ago now, and I never looked back.
Were there any particular folks who inspired you?
Definitely the Canadian graffiti writer Opek — who was living in Bogota at the time — as he encouraged me to get my art up in the street. Dj Lu / Juegasiempre was an important influence, great support and my favorite stencil artist. Also the local work of Toxicómano , Guache, Kochino, Senil, Vogel, Praxis and others certainly inspired me.
Do you have any preferred surfaces?
The great thing about the urban space is that it’s filled with different textures and surfaces. In terms of my stencils, though, I generally like flat concrete ones, as they’re easier to work with and brighten up an otherwise dull, grey corner of the city.
Any thoughts on the graffiti/ street art divide?
To me they are one and the same. I try not to get into the politics. Live and let live I say. It’s all expression, creativity and passion.
Have you any thoughts about the corporate world’s engagement with graffiti and street art?
I’ve never liked how corporations have always been able to impose their images on our urban environment while graffiti and street art are almost always deemed illegal. Public spaces are for everybody, not just for companies that want to make sales and money. I feel uneasy how private corporations now use urban art to sell their brand, but I also understand that artists need to earn a living!
How you feel about the role of the Internet in this scene?
It’s changed everything. So much more artwork is accessible to so many. It’s not just the people in a particular neighborhood or city who can enjoy the pieces now. It also helps bring awareness to a wider audience of street artists from countries that are less visited or unknown. Bogota has one of the most prolific and best urban art scenes in the world, but not many people know about it or visit.
Do you have a formal arts education?
Not in the formal institutionalized sense, but both my parents are artists, and I grew up around art all my life. My dad is a sculptor, and my mom is a traditional painter. They taught me a lot from a very young age.
How do they feel about what you are doing these days?
They love it. I’ve even turned my mom on to street art! When she came to Bogota, she painted some walls with me!
What’s the riskiest thing you’ve done?
Well, I did get stabbed in the hand during a robbery this year while photographing street art in a dodgy neighborhood in Bogota. I was stupidly doing the wrong thing in the wrong place, and I learnt the hard way! I had to paint with my left hand for a few months while my right hand healed.
What inspires you these days to keep getting your art up in public spaces?
I love the idea of sharing my work with a wider audience without the limitations galleries and internal private spaces impose. And I love it when folks discover my work by chance and enjoy it! I want to be a part of a city’s visual landscape – the one I live in and the ones I visit.
What’s your ideal working environment?
Working in areas of cities where my street art will impact passersby by adding something to their commute, walk or day. Every city and street has its own unique aesthetic and feel.
Has your aesthetic been influenced by any particular cultures?
I’m especially influenced by Asian cultures and by different tribal aesthetics from around the world. Also popular culture, current world events and the environment influence my work. My work is a mix of socio-political and solely visual expression.
How has your work evolved in the past few years?
I work on larger surfaces, and I’m experimenting more with different materials and subject matters. I’m doing more complex stencils and experimenting with mixing free style with stencils. Also, I’ve started doing more sculptural works in the street through my masks.
Would you rather work alone, or do you prefer to collaborate with others?
Both. It’s always fun to collaborate with other artists, as it can add something new to all our pieces. Among the artists I’ve collaborated with are: Ronzo, Pez, DjLu, Dast, Tarboxx2, Miko and Kochino.
Where else – besides Bogota and NYC – have you gotten up?
I’ve gotten up in London, Mexico City, Miami, Atlanta, Sydney, Alaska, Canada and the Dominican Republic. May favorite place by far, though, is Bogota, Colombia!
What do you see as the role of the artist in society?
To visually reflect a particular perspective of the history and culture of the times and place. The artist highlights a people’s social and political values in a way that’s aesthetically expressive and open to different interpretations.
What about the photographers and bloggers? How do you feel about them?
Urban art is continuously evolving, changing and disappearing. It’s important that it’s documented as eventually it won’t exist. And as I mentioned before, it helps people discover and learn about scenes and artists they wouldn’t generally access.
What’s ahead?
I want to keep painting and creating as much as possible. I want my work to keep evolving. I love combining my love of travel with street art, so I will keep mixing that up! My family and my art are the most important things in my life!
Interview by Lois Stavsky; photos 1, 2, 4 & 6 courtesy of the artist; photos 3 and 5 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn by Lois Stavsky
{ 0 comments }
Sometimes they last for months; other times for weeks or even just days. But the graffiti that surfaces on Bushwick’s walls, particularly on those streets off the L line, are among NYC’s best. Here’s a small sampling of what we captured last month:
Denver-based Home
Spot KMS captured at work; completed piece here
Yes1 captured at work, with Shiro to his right
Photos by Dani Reyes Mozeson
{ 0 comments }
