October 2009: New Britain Mural Slam

I never thought I’d be so grateful for rain (especially after this summer). Since the skies opened on Saturday, my meet was cancelled and I could attend the second annual New Britain Mural Slam. Organized by CCSU professor Mike Alewitz and his mural painting class, the event featured a wide range of talent and mediums. Each artist got their own chunk of wall on the Welte parking garage’s 5^th floor and was left to do their thing for eight hours. The intermittent rain washed some murals away, but I tried to capture all of them on my camera. Here are some highlights.

Eyesore came out in full force, spraying giant bright pieces flanked with creepy gumdrop monsters. Always a crowd favorite, he signed black books and chatted with everyone.
You can’t tell from this photo, but Mike Goldschneider had one hell of a time getting this stencil to stick. Battling wet walls, dripping paint, and the impending doom of more rain, he managed to slap five layers up before the downpour started. Applause!
Esper and Speak spent a whole day tweaking their pieces. The pair commented other people’s wild style and encouraged others to critique their work. Speak got all cerebral with it, talking about "light sources and shit." I really liked these guys and hope I catch up with them again sometime.
Aside from the brilliance of this hypothetical death match, the guys that worked on this piece made my day when they sprayed a little penguin on the nearby cinderblock. Octopus vs. stegosaurus: who would win?

For some reason, I really enjoyed this mural. Throughout the day, I stopped by this piece again and again intending to ask the artist why the noses were bleeding. I never asked. Any insight here?

I’m sending Alewitz all my photos, so see if he posts them here.

September 2009: New Britain Mural Slam

Last Thursday, I had the pleasure of catching up with Mike Alewitz and his mural-painting class down in New Britain. We wandered the New Britain Museum of American Art and critiqued the work. Then, we sat down to chat about the Mural Slam. I couldn't be more excited, since I'm always looking for CT events that rock my socks. Here's the deal, courtesy of the event's Wordpress:

"The First Annual Mural Slam was held April 2008. It hosted dozens of artists, from experienced crews to young undergrads. Highlights included performance art, free food, awards, and watching CCSU Professor Mike Alewitz get a bucket of garbage dumped on him."
"The Mural Slam is part of a growing international movement which recognizes public art in every form–graffiti, tags, murals, etc.–deserves to be celebrated. In 2008, the Slam started with a mass of artists throwing their tags, stencils, and murals onto the walls of CCSU’s Welte Garage in an all day event. Artists of every type were given eight hours to paint in their section of wall without fear of prosecution or arrest–just friends, food, music, and art."
"This year, the tradition will continue–and everyone is invited. Ten bucks gets you a 4′x12′ slice of wall and 9hrs to do what you want. Any imagery is allowed, but use your judgment–we want to keep this going every year, so don’t paint something that will get us kicked off of campus. And remember: BYOP–bring your own paint."

"To register, e-mail the following to marissablaszko@gmail.com

. name of artist (tag okay)

. working with a crew?

. phone number where we can contact you

. best e-mail to use for contacting you

. age of artist (16+ only!)

. medium you’ll be working with (ie: spray paint, acrylic, etc.)

. whether or not you participated last year (and, if you did, what you painted)

A $10 sign-up fee per space is required to cover basic expenses of the Mural Slam."
Thanks a million, guys! I know I'm definitely going to snap some shots in the afternoon. Word has it that another guy I know might participate (go get it, Ben!). For more shots from last year, check the group's blog (and disregard the September 26 date).