It doesn’t happen often that Greg “Craola” Simkins (featured) grabs a spray can, but when he does, he usually creates something exceptional. After not painting walls for quite some time, his newest mural, which he recently finished in Los Angeles, is definitely an example of that. With support from Branded Arts and Graphaids, the LA-based artist took some time off his studio work and upcoming animated I’m Scared: The Movie, in order to create this fantastic piece. Completely figurative, with no letters or other “classic” graffiti elements, the piece […]
More stories from the week that ended Aug 3 (click on bolded words for more information): Luis Hernan captures images of wifi signals using Android app and long exposure photography. RIP: Devin Leonardi, who took his own life at the age of 33. RIP: King Robbo, who died at the age of 45 after being in a vegetative state since 2011. RIP: Andrea L. Rich, who passed away at the age of 71 due to acute myeloid leukemia. Residents distraught and angry as militants destroy […]
As is often the case with public murals when released into the streets, local writers will add their own “opinions” directly onto the works. This is what happened almost immediately to the Jeff Soto (interviewed) wall that was painted in South Central last week (covered) as you can see above. Take a look below he returned to touch up the piece, changing his iconic owl into one of his signature cats in the process… Discuss Jeff Soto here.
For those in Chicago to enjoy Lollapalooza and The Provocateurs opening tonight, make sure you also find time this weekend to take a look at the street art associated with the group exhibition. We already touched on the curator of the show Shepard Fairey and his new mural at Columbia College, but another artist’s work to check out is Los Angeles-based writer RETNA’s (featured) piece at 33 E. Congress for the Wabash Arts Corridor. Photo credit: Jon Furlong. Discuss RETNA here. Discuss this show here.
With The Provocateurs set to open tomorrow (July 31st) at Block 37 in Chicago, some of the street artists involved have been hard at work getting up around town, not the least of which was Shepard Fairey, who curated the massive group exhibition. Placed on Wabash & 9th on one of Columbia College’s buildings and entitled We Own The Future, the mural will be a welcome addition to Chi-town’s cityscape. We’ll also bring you a look soon at other artists, including Cleon Peterson, RETNA, and POSE, who […]
Portland-based artist Chris Valkov follows up last year’s solo exhibition at Breeze Block Gallery (covered) with a new body of work entitled The (sub)Natural Balance this week at Portland’s Antler Gallery. Thematically challenging anti-consumerism and ecological topics, his bold work is visually striking with the architectural style he employs within his painting work. AM caught up with Chris to ask a few questions ahead of the show which opens on Thursday, the 31st of July. Arrested Motion (AM): Can you explain a little about your background […]
LUDO (interviewed) is currently back home in Paris, spending long days creating new works for his upcoming London solo show at his studio, and pasting up public works on early weekend mornings. Over the past weekend, he created this double billboard piece on the streets of the French capital, taking up the advertising space while propagating his imagery. By bastardizing the iconic Coca-Cola logo and the company’s visual identity, he created an image of a Coke can with his familiar Pina Colada image, along the altered motto “Enjoy Ludo […]
Mobstr (interviewed), who recently put on a show in London (covered), just completed a project he had been working on for over a year. Starting in May of last year, he had been counting the days a particular piece of graffiti lasted on a wall in Hackney Wick along the edge of a river, adding hashmarks for each passing day. The low wall was finally destroyed this July as part of new construction, but as you can see, this is yet another example of Mobstr’s interactive […]
More stories from the week that ended July 27 (click on bolded words for more information): Azuma Makoto sends bonsai tree, orchids, lilies, other plants into the stratosphere, suspended in a balloon. RIP: Otto Piene, who died at the age of 85. Should Britain do more to protect cultural objects and sites during time of war? The Shrine of Jonah/Mosque of Yunus (Nineveh, Mosul, Iraq) has been destroyed, allegedly by ISIS. Artists destroy Beuys sculpture for an ingredient in liquor, which they drank. Eva Beuys takes […]
Dream Catcher is the newest mural created by Polish art duo Etam Cru. Both members, Sainer and Bezt, painted this large piece in Lubin, for the LFG: ALL MY CITY ’14, organised by the Europejska Fundacja Kultury Miejskiej and Brain Damage Gallery. Created over the course of 5 days, the image shows a dog wrapping up his owner with a leash, in an attempt to catch an imaginary bone. The mural is a perfect example of their signature elements – a playful scenario, a peculiar way of freezing a tensed, dynamic moment, […]
Last week, Riverside native Jeff Soto (interviewed) headed to Los Angeles to paint a mural (invited by Juxtapoz) for Converse and their Wall to Wall program. Set in South Central L.A. on Slauson Avenue where some of his ancestors originally settled, Soto decided to do something as a tribute to them. Working on the piece over the course of two days, he decided to go with one of his familiar owl motifs. He states: “The Owl is a symbol of age and experience, a matriarch or patriarch of the […]
Our next Art Focus feature is on sculptor Jessica Stoller and her provocative porcelain works. Her ornate, Rococo-influenced creations take a traditional medium and add a modern twist to it. The mix of decadent foods, masked characters, signs of decay, BDSM references, voluptuous body parts – all piled to together – challenge the viewer to find beauty in the grotesque. Some of her most effective work comes in the form of still lifes, but instead of painted, are composed of a selection of her unexpected deviant sculptures […]
