December 2009: Azo in Ukraine

If you're looking for new artists online, Streetfiles is a great resource. The website is filled to the brim with photos and members from across the globe. Today, Streetfiles member Azo checks in from Lutsk, Ukraine. While the winters bring sub-zero temperatures, I'm sure he's indoors brainstorming ideas for spring. He writes:

"I became interested in drawing on the streets about 5 or 6 years ago. Sometimes I work alone, but in recent days I`m working with other people. One of the reasons is the place where I work, because I really like abandoned houses in the countryside, uninhabited areas, districts. It's not always safe to be there alone.""I spend a lot of time experimenting with different forms, colours, proportions and their interaction with background. Thus, the concept of my works was created. It is an image of the spatial forms in the context of a plane."
"I enjoy working in places that haven't felt the presence of humans for a long time. I like ex-military units in the forest, industrial zones, ruined houses and so on."
"Crazy situations happen quite often with me. For example, we were running away from the owner of the factory, on which we had drawn. My friend was almost hit by this man on the car. Once after successful work in some house when it was dark in the streets we met a pack of wild, agressive dogs who were pretty hungry. It was scary, because we were surrounded and had to jump through the windows to survive."
"Now I am engaged in painting, mural art, also I'm preparing for the exhibition and finishing some works on the street."

Thanks, Azo! For more brilliant photos, visit his Streetfiles profile.

In The Headlines

Good morning and happy Monday! This weekend, my grandmother celebrated her 80th birthday, so we all went down for amazing food, drinks, and conversation. Now it's back to work and less than a week until my birthday! While I figure out how to celebrate 24, you can peep at these headlines.

Bastardilla wants you to watch his documentary, Memoria Canalla.

When you get a second, give Marc and Sara of Wooster Collective a shout in the comments section. Sounds like they're going through a tough time and could use the support.

Tomo's new website is up and running. Check it out for freebies and great photos.

Signtologist and his mom are showing their work together in Denver this month.

Speedy Graphito decorated a girls' school in Kolkata, India.

Dan Witz spoke to NY Arts Magazine about his unique street pieces.

Now even NYC's trash bins look good. Thanks to Finley's good taste, some dumpsters outside the New Museum now have a brand new coat.

Chris Stain has some lovely new portraits up on his site.

The folks over at Osservatorionmade-Marseille have a show coming up on my birthday! That's right, this jam kicks off on January 16; visit their site for more details.

Wynwood reaps the benefits of Art Basel each year, but who gets more exposure: the city or the artists who paint it?

The Watford Observer speculates about the origin of some Banksy-esque stencils.

When it's too cold to go out, just doodle on Tyler's "Hello My Name Is" magnet and stick it on your fridge.

I think people are more offended by the incorrect usage of the f-bomb in this sentence than they are about the word itself.

Friday ProFile: Plas

What happens when people with 9 to 5 jobs see giant plastic sculptures on the Internet? In Plas’s case, they make their own. Since 2008, members of the Elche, Spain, collective have decorated city streets with huge translucent figures. Inspired by the original plastic creations of Mark Jenkins, Plas members explain, “The initial group was derived from sharing the love of urban art, sharing facts, curiosities, pictures. Thanks to the Internet, we could compile an extensive archive of works and artists. Then we formed a task force and began creating works. We believe that culturally, our city is very off. Through our sculptures, we try to awaken a sense of art.”

Each time Plas members combine their powers on a project, they approach it from a different angle. They insist, “We do not believe in a style. If someone gets up in the morning and has an idea to play with, the group starts working on it. It’s true that on the blog you see a very particular style, but it was a series that went on for several weeks.”
The process is cyclical; the more Plas sees on the street, the more they create pieces for the street. “Everything we create is inspired by the streets,” they add. “We see graffiti and it inspires us. Seeing people move makes us move with greater enthusiasm. And it's very motivating to get many ideas and combine them, play with them, and create something personal.”
Working in the streets isn’t always easy. “Typically, people who see us working encourage us,” they say. “But some people will destroy the work, or the police will arrive just as we’ve installed the work. We always play with some risk of getting caught or not, but it’s something we don’t really worry about. We’re more concerned about our works not damaging the cityscape.” For Plas members the best part about streetwork is collaborating with others. “Teamwork motivates us more,” they confessed. “It’s cool to sit down and discuss how to create, perform, and display. It’s very powerful to work with people with similar ideas. We love to see other people moving and creating, too.”
In the future, Plas members hope to keep pushing the boundaries of their medium. "We love searching for new documentation, new works, new artists," they insist. "As for us, we will continue working on what we like. Through their work and the work of other dedicated individuals, they hope to open people's eyes to the beauty of street art. "Many people see only the graffiti," they add, "but street art is any art form that inspires feelings in the viewer. Urban art is great because it's changing every day; there's always a blog or a new website with amazing works.
Gracias, Plas! For more fantastic cellophane creations, take a look at their blog. Finally (if you haven't already), please give Illicit a shout-out under the 'art, craft, and design' section of the Bloggie nominations. Thanks so much and I'll see you next week!

November 2009: Ritek1 in Ukraine

First, my pretties, I need to ask a favor. We're going to try something and see if this works. The 2010 Bloggie Awards are currently accepting nominations, and I think it would be cool if Illicit was in there. If you click on the link, you can stick us under the "art, craft, and design" heading. The nomination period ends January 12, and I would be ever so grateful if you and your friends could help us out. Now, on with the post!

This summer, I hope to get around and photograph some serious street art. With so many recent submissions from Eastern Europe, the region is definitely at the top of my list. Today, we hear from Ritek1 in Sevastopol, Ukraine. He tells us a bit about the thought process underlying his gigantic lettering. He writes:

"When I started doing graffiti is difficult to tell because I was already engaged in classical graffiti and stencils. I started doing roll-ups at the end of 2008 and I liked the originality and new forms. It was something new to me and it was interesting to me."
"I developed my style so that visually it looked very mysterious and unusual; I don't want to be the same as all the rest. I like harmony of forms and sometimes an idea for a font design comes to mind. When that happens, I try to make a sketch. It is very important to select suitable colors which will combine well. I paint my geometric fonts in two different directions. Sometimes, when I need to quickly make a stylish font, I make thinner letters. In general, I try to learn from different branches of art. It is good to be able to draw and to study it independently."
"For painting, I choose my locations very carefully. I like picturesque places that will make photos of my work look good. For this purpose it is necessary to travel and search for many such places."
"Sometimes I work alone, but we create interesting things together with KLMF. He knows how to do roll-ups correctly and both of us like the way they turn out. I am ready to paint with someone if he or she can show me something special. It's always desirable to try to mix styles and to create a whole visualization that is pleasant to look at."
"I recently finished my last project and I have many new bright ideas which I am going to realize in the near future."

Thanks, Ritek1! For more Ukrainian gems, check out his Flickr.

November 2009: Skount in Barcelona

More often than not, gray is the color of city life. From the buildings to the sidewalks, the landscape can seem overwhelmingly monotone. Fortunately, there are people like Skount bent on make urban spaces a little brighter. He gives us a brief tour of his home base, Barcelona, and shares the reasoning behind his work. He writes:

"I started in 1999. At the time, I was largely influenced by hip-hop culture. My style changed over time as my own curiosity and desire to investigate other aspects and artistic disciplines grew. I began to discover and develop other things, without questioning whether or not it was graffiti, street art or whatever you call it. I simply painted where and what I wanted to. When I paint, I feel in some way free to receive and transmit a stream of sensations. Also, my own love to know and mingle with other cultures and people leads me to travel and paint throughout

Europe, Central America and Asia at the moment. This fact also contributed to my development not just as an 'artist' but as a person and directly influences my painting and my

way of seeing things."

"Normally, I enjoy developing my work alone. I limit myself to develop my work by my emotions and what I see in the urban environment or different sensations

perceived in different environments and situations. It is very difficult to merge and share these emotions and sensations with another person. But obviously I love to develop projects, whether I'm painting or doing another good activity with others. It is a way to nurture each other on several levels. One could say that I develop my work alone and in

company of others; this form gives a unique quality to my work."

"Well, I think we live in a society that in general is becoming more gray. We pursue an unhealthy lifestyle. We follow the rules implemented by a few that tell us how

dress, eat, wear, and buy. That color has become our home. We pay more attention to this kind of thing and we forget our soul in the original sense of the word and the small pleasures of life.

All this, this way of seeing things in my view is part of my style today."

"Usually my favorite places to go and paint are houses or factories. They're rather desolate and quiet, so it is easier to work in this environment. But sometimes I love to paint in noisy places, full of people to interact with in a certain way. Everything depends on the day and situation." "I'm working on "Incadescent Natures." It is a project of abstractions: color, black with implosions in different urban environments. Composed of deconstructions of color and

chromatic wooden sculptures, the project will be integrated into the urban landscape. But this is only a preview I am shaping today."

Gracias, Skount! For more lovely spraycan photos, check out his Flickr.

November 2009: World War Won from SA

Second day of the new (posting) year and we're already representing new countries. Today, we check in with World War Won who got his start in South Africa. Currently posted up in London, World War Won cleverly modifies the city streets with a dash or two of paint. He writes:

"I started working in public when i was 16. I spend a lot of time working alone. But when I'm actually installing works in public, I prefer to be with some pals.""I'm not sure that I have developed a style. Style seems to be an ongoing organic thing - something that just emerges after lots and lots of work. I don't think it is something that you should be aware of when you are producing. Just make things that you like."
"I jump around between mediums a lot as I get bored very quickly. At the moment, I am really interested in creating work that is open-ended and interpretable, work that has no real message other than to provoke individual interpretations from the public."
"I used to paint in the suburbs of Cape Town in a crew called PaintdripRisks. We were mainly interested in locations that were hidden: walls along bicycle paths, etc. Then recently I moved over to £ondon to target masses of people. Right now, my favourite places to display work are in the busiest parts of central £ondon."
"Saying this, I'm not really that interested in graffiti as a medium anymore. In short, I think there are many new ways to create public work and spraycans are not necessarily the most interesting or the most innovative....I'm interested in playful invention and I try and

think of new ways to infect the city all the time. Right now, I am working on being as prolific as possible."

Thanks so much, WWW! Has anyone over in England see his stuff? SA? Let me know! For more photos and updates, check out his blog.

Happy New Year Headlines!

After a most necessary break, family reunions, tasty meals, and a great new year spent with friends, I'm back in full effect! Did you miss me? I must admit, it felt odd not posting every day. However, my enthusiasm is renewed and I'm ready to go all-out in 2010. I've got a couple ideas for new projects that I'll share as soon as they get going. Until then, get caught up with this huge pile of headlines!

Know Hope shot me a thankful note and a photo for 2010. Thanks so much!

Istanbul's Milk Gallery gets down with street art.

Banksy and Robbo waged war in north London this past week after Banksy painted over Robbo's 24 year-old piece.

In Banksy's hometown of Bristol, Filton College offers classes in spraycan art.

Remi/Rough and Jaybo sent me this collaboration video, too. I met these guys last year in London and look forward to seeing more of their great work in 2010.

Chor Boogie decorated L.A. with his "Perception of Color Therapy" mural.

Just like your printer, the Color Dial Spray system takes paint cartridges and blends them for a colorful spray. How's that for a reusable spray can?

Luzinterruptus reminds us that Big Brother is always watching with his "Happy 1984" sculpture.

Suso33 hooked me up with the link to his latest video. His scribbles turn out a lot cooler than mine ever do!

Cool Hunting listed their top five favorite street art projects of the year.

In Baltimore, a North Avenue alley protects graffiti artists and their work.

In the Pacific Northwest, stencils are popping up everywhere.

Gaia's new mural shines on Broadway in New York City. Check the video to watch it come to life.

Annnnnnd after surviving the fall-out from his Barrel Monster, N.C. State student Joe Carnevale takes old computer bits and builds a purple elephant.