I love street art. Can't get enough. Not the lame ass name tag that deface property. I am talking real art. I don't care if it is on public or private property. Trust me. The art almost always improves the wall it is on.
We all know about Banksy and Shepard Fairey. But there is so much more. So here is some great places for you to explore and see what great art is out there. Just remember to keep your eyes out and pay attention when you are outside during your commute or shopping.
Kind of sucks that these are now regulated by the town. Used to be anyone over 16 with a can of spray paint could paint here. I would ride my bike down to see the new work all the time. My ex-neighbor and friend from Redondo Beach TikiJayOne was very prolific in West LA. He had me help him do the whole set of walls one night something he felt was never done before.
You know for a fact that white is the most AWESOME white ever painted. Well of course it was me! I remember getting half way across covering the previous art and my friend said 'Slow down. Just in case some of that art was done by gangsters'. I assumed because it's one thing to paint something new, and another to look like a do gooder cleaning the place up at 2am!
In NY my friend @ElCelso - LINK has a loose group of great artists that were known as the Electric Love Crew, kind of a street art collective. Here is a great repository of photos or you:
Celso does incredible Nudes!
His studio is in a building visible from the West Side Highway. They used to have this amazing amount of art outside for all to see until the owners decided to paint a lame ass jungle scene.
Before:
After: LAME!
Some of Celso's friends do incredible work, check the web for Abe Lincoln Jr - LINK, Choice Royce, Plasma Slug, Dark Cloud, Keely, GoreB, DirtyBoards, or follow people like @cmonstah (Celso's lovely wife) - LINK or Luna Park - LINK
Another great source for NYC Street Art is http://www.brooklynstreetart.com/theblog/ and you can also follow them on the Twitter @BKStreetArt
Lastly this is a site based in Moscow. It is in Russian but the Art Speaks for itself: http://vivacity.ru/ and they are also on the Twitter: @vivacity_ru
Some really incredible movies are available on Netflix as well. I highly recommend:
Exit Through the Gift Shop - A Banksy Film
Bomb It - A Film by John Reiss - he goes around the world incredible stuff
Beautiful Losers - by Aaron Rose - which has a lot of street art history
I love going on walking tours of street art, especially in NYC's Lower East Side and Williamsburg. But it can be found everywhere.Some from my travels:
SoHo
Manhattan
Woodside, Queens
Woodside, Queens
Williamsburg, Brooklyn (Celso v GoreB)
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
woot!
ReplyDeleteLOL yes lots of love for the NY crew!
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