Category Archives: Street Art

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Pprofessors: Red People Art-Constructor

Russian Contemporary Art, Red Men Statues, cool, viral, fun installation, Gridchinhall,Russian Contemporary Art, Red Men Statues, cool, viral, fun installation, design, collabcubedRussian Contemporary Art, Red Men Statues, cool, viral, fun installation, design, collabcubedRussian Contemporary Art, Red Men Statues, cool, viral, fun installation, design, collabcubedViral Red People, Moscow, Russia, Pprofessors, art installation, sculpture, collabcubedClick to enlarge

Yes, there’s been a bit of a Russian theme this week after perusing many a Russian gallery site into the wee hours the other night, but this is the last of it for now, and it’s a fun one, at least I think so.

The Red People project, created by Andrey Lublinskiy and Maria Zaborovskaya of the Pprofessors art group, is a modular system used to assemble an anthropomorphous character, sometimes large, other times small, out of 13 wooden blocks. Working in practically any context and integrated therein, these Red Men have become a sort of viral phenomenon around Moscow and its environs. So much so, that they have become stars of comics and political debates, and are slowly making their way across the world.

With inspiration from, and a nod to, cult artists such as Malevich, Rodchenko, Bruskin, Giacometti, Haring and Gormley, the Pprofessors have made these red contemporary icons pop up in the most unexpected of places, including sitting by a park fountain, scootering around the streets of Moscow, or sitting in the middle of a shopping center. After their exhibit in 2010 at the Gridchinhall Gallery, a few of the men have become permanent fixtures on the grounds, with one sitting atop the gallery’s building entrance.

The Pprofessors also created a toy-like kit of the Red People, where each child (or adult) can manipulate the elements of the composition using the basic red blocks included in the kit.

All in all, a very fun project that I could see taking off in NYC.

via artguide

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Boa Mistura: Beauty and Pride in a Favela

typography, street art, graffiti, Brazilian Favela, Brasilandia, Pride, color, collabcubedtypography, street art, graffiti, Brazilian Favela, Brasilandia, Sweetness, color, collabcubedtypography, street art, graffiti, Brazilian Favela, Brasilandia, Pride, Beauty, Sweetness,color, collabcubedClick to enlarge

I love everything about this amazing project by the appropriately named Spanish art collective Boa Mistura (good mix): the typography, the color, the participative nature, and most of all the huge heart behind it.

Made up of artists Arkoh, Derko, Pahg, Purone, and Rdick who have developed their work in different fields, Boa Mistura represents a mixture of perspectives combined to create something better. Recently they have started a series of projects in the favelas (slums) of Brazil, starting with Vila Brasilândia near São Paulo where, directly involving the inhabitants, they painted the streets and alleyways with murals using anamorphic typography with pride-inducing words such as, well, ‘pride’ (orgulho), ‘beauty’ (beleza), ‘sweetness’ (doçura), ‘firmness’ (firmeza), and ‘love’ (amor).

As you can see, the result is fantastically joyful. Bravo!

via juxtapoz

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The Wynwood Walls: Street Art in Miami

Graffiti, Street art, Deitch, Goldman, Miami, artists paint murals on walls in Miami FloridaGraffiti, Street art, Deitch, Goldman, Miami, artists paint murals on walls in Miami FloridaGraffiti, Street art, Jeffrey Deitch, Tony Goldman, artists paint murals on walls in Miami FloridaClick to enlarge

Well, this certainly puts the Houston graffiti wall to shame! The Wynwood Walls is a community revitalization concept conceived by Tony Goldman in 2009 as a way to transform the warehouse district of Wynwood, Miami into a center where people could gravitate and explore, thereby developing the area’s pedestrian potential. I should have picked up on something with so many street artists featuring projects in Miami on their sites.

Initially opened in 2010 with the Wynwood Doors, the project has since expanded to the Wynwood Walls and Outside the Walls. Street artists from all over the world have gone to Miami to participate and it has become a sort of “Museum of the Streets,” as coined by Jeffrey Deitch, one of the original co-curators.

Here Comes the Neighborhood is a series of short episodes on the project as a whole, as well as interviews with individual artists. If you like the trailer below you can head on over to their site to see much more.

via the delightful Karen aka Kaia!

 

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The Radical Camera: NY’s Photo League

New York's Photo League, photos of New York City 1936-1951, street photography, the Great Depression,Joe SchwartzNew York's Photo League, photos of New York City 1936-1951, street photography, Erika StoneNew York's Photo League, photos of New York City 1936-1951, street photography, great depression, WWII, Harlem, Lower East SideClick to enlarge

What a great surprise to walk into the Jewish Museum a week ago, not knowing what I was about to see, and experience one of the best photography shows I’ve seen in a long time. The Radical Camera: New York’s Photo League, 1936-1951 is a must-see for any lover of New York City, or of street photography in general. Some of the photos were familiar, but most were new to me. From the moment you enter the gallery, the parallels with the present are evident in the opening short film showing protesters in Union Square demanding unemployment assistance. It’s the 99% almost 80 years earlier. Of course, the contrasts are striking as well: these protesters look hungry, poor, all dressed in suits and skirts, and no one is smiling. There are no bed-ins or fun t-shirts as in the 1960s and today; clearly it was a different time, but it’s hard not to compare.

Apart from the protests and the poverty, the streets themselves also, in some cases, look exactly the same and in others are hard to recognize. It’s truly fascinating to look at every detail of each photo. Add to that, that the Photo League – a group of amateur and professional photographers who were politically progressive, believed in photography as an instrument for social change, and were later blacklisted during the McCarthy Era – leased 2,600 sq. feet of space in our very own building’s basement in the late 1940s as their gathering space, makes it all the more close to home.

One of the projects by the Photo League, and led by photographer Aaron Siskind, was the Harlem Document, an in-depth photographic overview of the black community. It made me smile to read that they collected ‘dozens’ of photos over several months of shooting; definitely not the digital age of today.

All photos are from The Jewish Museum’s website and The Financial Times. From top to bottom and left to right:
Joe Schwartz, Slums Must Go! May Day Parade, New York, c. 1936. ©Joe Schwartz
Erika Stone, Lower Eastside Facade, 1947. ©Erika Stone
Ruth Orkin, Times Square, from Astor Hotel, 1950. ©Estate of Ruth Orkin
Aaron Siskind, The Wishing Tree, 1937. ©Aaron Siskind Foundation / Courtesy Bruce Silverstein Gallery, New York
Ida Wyman, Spaghetti 25 Cents, New York, 1945. ©Ida Wyman
Ruth Orkin, Boy Jumping into Hudson River, 1948. ©Estate of Ruth Orkin
Morris Huberland, Union Square, New York, c. 1942. ©Estate of Morris Huberland / Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY
Arthur Leipzig, Ideal Laundry, 1946. ©Arthur Leipzig
Weegee (Arthur Fellig) Max is Rushing in the Bagels to a Restaurant on Secont Avenue for the Morning Trade, c.1940 ©Weegee

On a different note, don’t you think the bagels-on-a-string delivery method has great potential for a comeback in a contemporary health code compliant version?

If you’re in NYC, I highly recommend this exhibit which will be at the Jewish Museum through March 25th, 2012.

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Superkilen and The Red Square in Copenhagen

Park, playground, copenhagen, colorful park, Red Square, multicultural, bike pathPark, playground, copenhagen, colorful park, Red Square, multicultural,Park, playground, copenhagen, colorful park, Red Square, multicultural, bike pathClick to enlarge

Superkilen, a multicultural section of Copenhagen in the northwest part of the city has recently finished its new Red Square; a park and playground that is actually painted all shades of red. To reflect the many cultures in the community, the park is furnished with elements such as benches, trees, signage, and other furnishings all imported from 57 different countries.

Designed by Superflex, BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) and TOPOTEK1, the urban park occupies a long stretch containing a green and a black area in addition to the red zone. Each section facilitates different activities.

Very cool and fun.

Photos courtesy of the architects, classiccopenhagen’s flickr, and Drumstik1’s flickr

via a+t magazine

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Roadsworth: Dead Hearts

Street art, hearts, dead hearts, valentine's day, graffiti, photography, Roadsworth, MontrealStreet art, hearts, dead hearts, valentine's day, graffiti, photography, Roadsworth, MontrealStreet art, hearts, dead hearts, valentine's day, graffiti, photography, Roadsworth, MontrealClick to enlarge

Street artist Roadsworth started painting the streets of Montreal about ten years ago in protest of car culture and to promote bicycle use. This series of works is titled Dead Hearts…maybe not the most romantic title for a Valentine’s Day post, but that’s what we’re doing, so, let’s just go with it.

You can see more of Roadworth’s hearts as well as much more of his clever work on his website.

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Heart for Vaclav Havel in Prague

Heart Sculpture made of melted candles, Roman Svedja, Lukas Gavlovsky, Prague, Havel, Heart Sculpture made of melted candles, Roman Svedja, Lukas Gavlovsky, Prague, Havel, Heart Sculpture made of melted candles, Roman Svedja, Lukas Gavlovsky, Prague, Havel, Heart for Vaclav Havel, Prague National Theater Square, Sculpture, WaxClick to enlarge

Back on December 18th, Czech artist Roman Svejda stood among the thousands who lit candles for Vaclav Havel (playwright-turned-president) following his death, and wondered what would happen with all the candles. Fast forward a few weeks and Svedja along with artist Lukás Gavlovsky (and dozens of volunteers), have melted all that wax (roughly two tons worth) and built a giant, heart-shaped memorial to the former president. The image is inspired by the small heart-drawing that Havel used as part of his signature.

The 4 x 4 square meter sculpture is open and hollow, allowing visitors to step inside. It was unveiled last Friday in the square next to the National Theater in Prague and will remain there until April.

Photos: The Prague Post and Aktuálne

via The Art Newspaper

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Buff Diss: Taped Hands and more

Australian street art, Buff Diss, taped graffiti, taped hands, collabcubedAustralian street art, Buff Diss, taped graffiti, taped hands, collabcubedAustralian street artist, Buff Diss, taped graffiti, taped hands, collabcubedAustralian street artist, Buff Diss, taped graffiti, red stripe mural, londonClick to enlarge

Buff Diss, an Australian street artist from Melbourne, has been using tape instead of paint for the past six or seven years. Though he “tape paints” all kinds of images from abstract to skulls, there seems to be a strong hand theme. Diss cleverly integrates the elements and variations of the street to his advantage, at the same time adding humor to many of his pointing and pinching taped fingers.

The bottom three images are from one of his most recent works: a mural for Red Stripe in London.

Photos from Buff Diss’ flickr and blog.

via Brainstorming

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Judy Chicago: Sublime Environment

Sublime Environment, art installation, dry ice and flares, cool art, Art Los Angeles Contemporary 2012Sublime Environment, art installation, dry ice and flares, cool art, Art Los Angeles Contemporary 2012PacificStandardTimePerformance_PublicArtFest, Art Los Angeles Contemporary 2012, cool installationJudy Chicago's 1968 performance art installation, disappearing Environment, recreated as Sublime EnvironmentLast Thursday night, as part of the opening party for the Art Los Angeles Contemporary 2012 and Pacific Standard Time Performance and Public Art Festival, activist artist Judy Chicago re-staged her 1968 performance piece Disappearing Environments as Sublime Environment. Using thirty-seven tons of dry ice and red flares the performance was staged outside in a parking lot near Santa Monica’s Barker Hangar. No one knew how long it would take to melt, or when the ice would stop smoking. Apparently, it was still smoking on Saturday night, but by Sunday the installation had, for all practical purposes, “disappeared.”

Judy Chicago’s career now spans over five decades. Throughout, she has been committed to the power of art as a vehicle for intellectual transformation and social change, especially pertaining to women’s rights. The original staging of Disappearing Environments (shown in bottom photo) took place in 1968 when Chicago teamed with artists Lloyd Hamrol and Eric Orr to produce the original installation in, a then still-under-construction Century City, in the shadow of a department store, creating a contrast between a minimalist piece and consumerism in America.

Photos courtesy of Judy Chicago by Donald Woodman; Starkwhite; Michelle Rozic; and UndercoverLA.

via artnet

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The RedBall Project: Kurt Perschke

Interactive art, Large Red ball placed in different cities around the world, Fun art installationInteractive art, Large Red ball placed in different cities around the world, Fun art installationInteractive art, Large Red ball placed in different cities around the world, Fun art installationClick to enlarge

This is such a fun project! Though it’s been traveling the world for a few years, this is the first I’ve heard of it. The RedBall Project by New York based artist Kurt Perschke, consists of a series of temporary installations within a city over a span of a couple of weeks. Perschke finds interesting, and somewhat humorous, locations (though, a giant red ball in any location automatically evokes a certain amount of humor) that are often taken for granted. The previously neglected spaces come to the foreground highlighting the nooks and crannies of urban life.

For Perschke, the core of the project’s goal is the invitation to the public to engage and unleash their imagination. “Every time a passerby says – ‘You know, I know the perfect place to put it!’ – RedBall has succeeded in creating a moment of imagination.”

The project has taken place in many cities including Barcelona, Taipei, Chicago, Toronto, Sydney, Portland and most recently Abu Dhabi. Up next: Perth, from February 10 – March 3rd. Hey Kurt! How about bringing the project home to NYC?! I know the perfect place…

Here’s a short video by Tony Gaddis of the project in Chicago:

Photos are all from RedBall’s Facebook and Flickr Pool (PJ Mixer, PersonnelPeople, Swanky, Leo Reynolds, Duncan Kerridge)

via Huffington Post and MyModernMet

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Architypeture III

Typography in Architecture, Type, Environmental graphics, Luz exhibit, Architecture with typography, signageTypography in Architecture, Type, Environmental graphics, typotecture, Architecture with typography, signageTypography in Architecture, Type, Environmental graphics, typotecture, Architecture with typography, signage, Clavel Arquitectos, Mitsumoto Matsunami, C+CO4, architects,Click to enlarge
From top to bottom and left to right:
Museo Ibere Camargo, Porto Alegre, Brazil; Condominio P in Cagliari, Italy by C+CO4 Studio; Objekt 10, Zavrtinica Business Center in Croatia interiors by Typotecture, exteriors by Brigada / Damjan Geber (architect), Srđana Alač (designer)(x4 photos); Rocklea Road Warehouses, Jackson Clement Burrows Architects; Cafés Salzillo, Coffee & Literature Week, Mucia, Spain, Clavel Arquitectos (x3 photos); Vigaceros Headquarters, Murcia, Spain, Clavel Arquitectos.

Architecture and typography combined, Buildings with typography, Signage, Sculptural typography, Architypeture, typotectureArchitecture and typography combined, Buildings with typography, Signage, Sculptural typography, Architypeture, typotecture

Click to enlarge
The Number House in Osaka, Japan, Mitsutomo Matsunami Architects; Education Executive Agency Tax Office in Groningen, UNstudio photo by Ron Tilleman; Museum of Modern Art, Santos, Brazil, Metro Arquitetos Associados + Paulo Mendes da Rocha; Pokobar, Zagreb, Croatia, Typotecture (x3 photos); Restaurante LAH!, Madrid, Spain, Ilmio Design; QV Car Park, Melbourne, Australia, Latitude Group; Chips Residential Development, New Islington, Manchester, Alsop Architects.

Here we bring you our third installment of Architypeture: the beautiful combination of architecture and typography. These projects come from Brazil, Spain, Croatia, and the Netherlands, as well as representation from Japan, Australia, and the UK. Click on the credits to link to more images or information, usually on the architect’s site.

If you missed our previous Architypeture posts, Architypeture I is here, and Architypeture II is here.

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Seth Wulsin: Animas

Animas, multi-screen installations, Seth Wulsin, Brooklyn artist, collabcubedAnimas, multi-screen installations, Seth Wulsin, Brooklyn artist, collabcubedSculpture, multi-screen, multi-dimensional heads, mesh sheets, Brooklyn artistSculpture, multi-screen, multi-dimensional heads, Buenos Aires street artSeth Wulsin, Installation, Buenos Aires Prison, Windows as pixels, cool art effectClick to enlarge

I saw one of Seth Wulsin’s Animas installations a few years ago in his studio as part of the Dumbo Arts Festival in Brooklyn. I was very impressed at seeing these large-scale screens hanging from the ceiling that individually just looked like plain screens, but when seen all together from the front, an almost holographic, three-dimensional, ghost-like head would appear floating on the screens.

Wulsin works primarily with space and light through these large-scale, site-specific, ephemeral sculptural installations. His Animas (soul in Latin) series explores the interior dimensions of mind and soul in the physicality of space. Here is how Wulsin describes his Animas sculptures:

Each sculpture has three kinds of inter-dimensional space that all occupy the same spatial coordinates: the concrete, volumetric space of the screens; the pictorial/volumetric space of the images produced by the paint on the screens; and the optical interference generated between the screen grids when two or more planes overlap (without coinciding) , an optically real, but tactically non-existent space.

Also very interesting are his works on the streets of Buenos Aires. The photo second from bottom, are two small Animas embedded in a building front, and the bottom photo is from his work 16 Tons, using the prison window grids of a Buenos Aires prison as a pixelated screen. By breaking out certain windows, images of faces appeared reflected in the remaining panes. Very cool and creepy.

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The Insinuated Furniture Project

The insinuated furniture project, Ludens, Urban Prosthetics, Mexico City, street artThe insinuated furniture project, Ivan Hernandez-Quintela, Urban Prosthetics, street artLudens,Ivan Hernandez-Quintela, Urban Prosthetics, street art, Mexico cityThe insinuated furniture project, Ivan Hernandez-Quintela, Urban Prosthetics, street artThis concept made me smile. The Insinuated Furniture Project is the creation of Mexican artist/architect Ivan Hernandez-Quintela who started a design collective called Ludens. Hernandez-Quintela considers his designs spatial gags and enjoys invading Mexico City with his ‘Urban Prosthetics’. All his projects are about how people share space and how the objects that surround us affect the way we share it. He believes that each of us has the power to impact a city, one gesture at a time and that could have a contagious effect creating larger impacts from these small gestures. On his Insinuated Furniture Project, Hernandez-Quintela has this to say:

When one live in a city where urban furniture is not a priority, one finds that its inhabitants get creative and improvise by using different constructive surfaces as furniture. Insinuated furniture project is an attempt to call attention to these potential surfaces by drawing silhouettes of recognizable furniture over them.

Insinuated Furniture is a task for people and/or designers to go around the city with masking tape and draw silhouettes on these surfaces. Not to necessarily add objects to the city, but to recognize how existing objects are used, or misused. To help visualize the potential of the city.

via tarp

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E1000: Tagging the Grates of Madrid

street art in Madrid, e1000, tags on grates, gates, vents, collabcubedstreet art in Madrid, e1000, tags on grates, gates, vents, collabcubedstreet art in Madrid, e1000, tags on grates, gates, vents, collabcubedSpanish street artist E1000, (previously here), has taken to tagging the streets of Madrid in a cryptic manner, taking advantage of the horizontal and vertical lines of gates, grates, shutters, vents, and manhole covers to paint the five characters of his signature. Guillermo de la Madrid has found, photographed and documented a bunch of them on his blog Escrito en la Pared. Above are most of them.

It’s kind of like finding the “Ninas” in a Hirschfeld illustration. Okay, so not exactly…

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Love Motel for Insects: NYC

Science, entomology, light installation, art, bugs, insects, teaching, ballengee, collabcubedScience, entomology, light installation, art, bugs, insects, teaching, ballengee, collabcubedClick to enlarge

Both an art installation and a life science project, Love Motel for Insects is an innovative interactive outdoor educational event created by Brandon Ballengée. Since 2001 Ballengée has been exhibiting his Love Motels worldwide including India, Ireland, and Italy, and now, along with Urban Art Projects, he’s hoping to bring Love Motel for Insects to New York City.

Using ultra-violet lights on large black canvases these installations attract insects and create an opportunity for viewers to interact with rarely seen nocturnal arthropods. This event, combined with ancillary educational programming referred to as Bug Love, hopes to inform the general NYC public about important environmental issues as well as inspiring kids and getting them excited about science, art, and the environment.

If this sounds like something you’d like to see or be a part of, head on over to their kickstarter page and watch the video, heck, maybe even make a donation. They have four days to go to reach their goal and are so close to it!

via luminapolis