Taken by me in Detroit

Mata Ruda: Exploring histories at the Bushwick Collective – Part 1

Originally from Venezuela, Mata Ruda drew upon the history of Central America for his first wall in New York City at the Bushwick Collective. Inscribing his images upon the preexisting mural by fellow Open Walls artist Gabriel Specter, the artist combines the context of Specter’s poppy “El Adiós Grocery” with his monochromatic imagery. Using a source photograph of an unknown, undocumented immigrant, this anonymous voice is given an ominous presence within this space. In a city of immigrants, the face of this everyman is accompanied by signage for a store that could exist on any corner in the city, asking us to question our interactions with people and iconography that most New Yorkers would not give a second thought.



Originally from Venezuela, Mata Ruda drew upon the history of Central America for his first wall in New York City at the Bushwick Collective. Inscribing his images upon the preexisting mural by fellow Open Walls artist Gabriel Specter, the artist combines the context of Specter’s poppy “El Adiós Grocery” with his monochromatic imagery. Using a source photograph of an unknown, undocumented immigrant, this anonymous voice is given an ominous presence within this space. In a city of immigrants, the face of this everyman is accompanied by signage for a store that could exist on any corner in the city, asking us to question our interactions with people and iconography that most New Yorkers would not give a second thought.



Combined with the black and white central portrait are a series of masks that float ominously around him, looming over the grocery’s banner. One of the first Mexican civilizations, the Olmecs were a Mesoamerican culture that now only exists through and is represented by the objects they left behind. The defined faces and hollow eyes of these artifacts have become emblematic of the culture, often called “colossal heads.” By applying traditional imagery from the contemporary figure’s transplanted homeland, Mata Ruda links the importance of a person’s past in their present through the use of historical imagery. The Olmec expression is echoed by the undocumented immigrant, further underlining this message.



http://blog.vandalog.com/2013/04/mata-ruda-exploring-histories-at-the-bushwick-collective-part-1/

“You don’t have to move out of your neighborhood to live in a better one.”

this song and all makes me want to cry

In preparation for their collaboration at Ad Hoc Gallery in Bushwick, Armsrock and Chris Stain sailed deep into the Brooklyn night not far from the huge Brooklyn Navy Yard, hoisting up ladders to put up a large mural stirring the contemplative inner currents of child's play entitled "I Know There Is Love", inspired by a Crass song of the same name. Using projections of their original work as well as improvised chalk drawings, the storytelling includes two tadpole-aged lads and a small harbor of imaginary vessels. In it one instantly escapes to a freer time of discovery when multiple dreams were easily set afloat. As if a reaction to the rough and salty seas of daily life in New York for many, the street artist co-captains hang a huge banner across the mast of this ship to announce that it is possible to right the bow and head toward hope. Summer 2009

Articulate Baltimore

Articulate: Baltimore, co-curated by Maryland-based artists Stefan Hauswald and Jesse James, is a public art initiative aimed at activating vacant space and integrating buildings, people, and culture along North Howard where it intersects with West Franklin and West Mulberry Streets. The project has transformed the experience that pedestrians, light-rail and bicycle riders, and drivers have as they arrive in or pass through this critical gateway to the newly designated Bromo Tower Arts & Entertainment District. This striking visual improvement has occured within view of a major east-west commuter thoroughfare to Route 40, a heavily used public transportation route, and the driving path to major Westside attractions such as Everyman Theater and the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center at the Hippodrome. This public art is also situated beside the two of only three significant residential buildings in the new district north of Fayette Street and in the orbit of some the most frequented emerging arts destinations in the city—Current Space, Gallery Four, Nudashank, Floristree, Fifth Dimension, and the new Downtown Cultural Art Center.

http://chrisstain.com/post/34236659952/over-the-weekend-i-took-a-trip-down-to-baltimore

“My work explores the emotional and physical struggle of growing up in an urban environment. Through hand-cut stencils and installations made from found materials I hope to inspire compassion for the often overlooked individuals of society.” – Chris Stain

Toilets of New York

http://nyctoilets.tumblr.com

Brooklyn Bar Bathrooms

Welcome to the Johnson's (Lower East Side) Wreck Room (Bushwick) http://www.theatlanticcities.com/arts-and-lifestyle/2013/03/what-you-can-learn-about-brooklyn-looking-its-bar-bathrooms/4875/

Happy Valentine's Day!

taken by me in Boston

Me in Manhattan

not exactly street art... Window washers at the Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh

That’s it, I had my first graffiti-for-dummy-master-class today, and thereby elevated my New York street cred. A tiny bit at least. I visited 5 Pointz, the outdoor art exhibit space in Queens. It is considered the first real graffiti Mecca in the world. I felt like I had just landed in a Technicolor paradise. You want colors, you want amazing pictures and feel like you belong in the ghetto, this is your spot. It’s free, it’s open 24/7 and it’s right across the street from MOMA PS 1, so in a day you can step from über contemporary to legit street art. This old warehouse started to be tagged in the ’90s and increased in popularity in the last decade. The name 5 Pointz means the five boroughs coming together as one. Meres (Jonathan Cohen), the curator of the center, gave me a little tour and was nice enough to hand me the bomb (as you can see at the end of the video I need a few more hours of practice). http://blogs.canoe.ca/mjny/2010/08/page/2/

Graffiti from what will be my new home...

Detroit

Art that makes you go "huh?"

http://www.artsology.com/blog/category/art-that-makes-you-go-huh/

An ad disruption inside an ad disruption inside an ad disruption

http://blog.vandalog.com/2013/01/public-ad-campaign/