Friday ProFile: Olivia

Due to some technological difficulties, today's ProFile will be in a weekday kind of format. Fortunately, Olivia has a lot to say about her work and the future of street art. She writes:

"I was born in Bilbao, north of Spain and I've been living in Barcelona for the last 15 years. I always liked that name, I used it as a nickname on Internet, so that was a name I felt comfortable with and using olive-oil character. Olivia as a subject came easily. I also look a little bit like her."

"Everywhere I go I try to take posters with me. Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid, Granada, Valencia, Paris, London, Berlin, Istanbul, Lisbon. In Spain I really like Valencia, because you can find very good spots and it last forever, at least by now. In Europe I loved Berlin, amazing city and full of really good stuff; also Paris is not easy but they really like stencils and I feel they appreciate my work. Paris is like the capital of stencils and for some reason my work always has a little French touch. When I'm not pasting, I work as a textile designer for fashion companies and also as a teacher of plastic arts to High school students."

"I remember myself always drawing and painting with colour pencils when I was a child, when I grew up I use to do it at school instead of doing maths. I started painting on the street when I was already 35, so at that time I had already studied Fine Arts and I had my own style of drawing. What I took from the street was the technique of stencil that I had never used before, Barcelona 5 years ago was very inspiring because there was murals and works of people of all types, colours, techniques and sizes, that was amazing.

"I was introduced to street art by Mr Case four and a half years ago. He told me everything about it, even how to make a stencil. I can't forget how excited I was when I painted my first stencil on the street, them I realised that was a bit more dangerous than I thought, police, fines. I think my olivias are more elaborate now. I started doing simple 2 or 3 layer stencils. Now I put more elements in them and I use different techniques apart from stencils, like fabric, feathers, etc. "

"Street art is very exciting, not because you can get caught by the police, but because being out on the streets everybody can see your stuff and other artists can interact with you. Also because street art makes a city feel alive, public space is a common place where everyone should have the opportunity of express themselves as citizens, not just the big companies with ads always trying to sell something, democratisation of public space."

"Once I got caught by the police on a bombing night in the city. I was taken to court and my punishment was to spend some hours as a social worker doing something for the community. I ended up teaching kids how to paint graffiti in a small organization, they had to paint the shutters of the neighbourhood shops with graffiti related to the products that were sold in each shop. The project was really interesting, teaching the kids how to make a sketch before starting and how to paint together was very nice. It was strange to teach kids how to paint graffiti as a punishment for painting graffiti... But it was a beautiful projects and the kids were really happy with the final piece, and that's the important thing for me."

"Painting with friends makes you feel safer and more self-confident. Street art is not an easy thing to do, many people hate it, you have to be careful with the police, and you must get used to see your work destroyed, covered, ripped and trashed (good for educating your ego), so doing it with friends makes it less hard and more fun."

"I think the main difference between old-school graffiti and street art, apart from the technique itself (spray vs brush/sticker/poster/whatever), is that graffiti is done by writers for writers, while street art is more open to all kind of people. Tags and throw-ups are a close code of communication for people who are inside the scene. Actually, tags are very hard to read for people not familiar with graffiti-style letters, they are intended for other graffiti artist to see and appreciate. While anybody can understand and appreciate street art. That's why graffiti and tagging are more stigmatised and not so accepted by society, while street art is more generally accepted, because graffiti is a close code of communication, while street art is more open o anyone and easily understandable."

"I never tried to express any special meaning behind my work, but I think there's always something, a way of seeing life that goes within. My girls are very feminine, but strong and even pioneer in their times. Each of my Olivias represent a quality I consider important, a tribute not only to the person or character but also an attitude. Frilivia Khalo, for instance, represents courage and self-improvement; Oliphine Baker to be ahead of your time. Now I'm working for an exhibition in Menorca, it's opening soon so I must hurry and finish the last pieces!"

"When graffiti started your ego was very important, a graffiti writer looked for fame and recognition in the graffiti scene. I guess this is a kind of attitude that fits more with men than with girls... Men tend to be tougher and more self-confident, while women can be more insecure, in general. But there are more and more girls doing street art now, and there were also girls in the old-school days. I think that's very important, hip hop and street art needs some girls! I don't think much about it, my fellow boys never made me feel different for being a woman; but there's a different sensitivity and normally you see the difference in the art, but not always.It's true that being a girl generates curiosity from people, because there aren't so many girls in the street art scene. I don't feel I have to lead any cause, but I am a woman and express my feelings and maybe those of any other women as well. Powerful, sensitive, intelligent, tough, but feminine. I prefer a strong woman to the image of a fragile conventional girl, and that's what I try to represent with Olivia. You can be strong and very feminine at the same time."

Thanks so much, Olivia! For more photos, catch up with Mr. Case on his website. Right now, I'm gearing up for a World Cup-filled weekend. Nobody call me (unless it's to discuss the matches)!

May 2010: E-mail Catch-up

I wouldn't be able to run this blog without my friends. They don't get upset when I run off and photograph things. Even if I bore them with talk of street art, they don't show it. One of the sweetest gestures is when they send me e-mails about street art because the piece made them think of me. Amazing! Today, my friends Ben, Elif, Will, and Hannah check in from CT, Istanbul, NYC, and Paris to share notes, photos, and video clips. Much love!

"Thought you would enjoy! Here's a video of him explaining what will be in the show. Awesome!--Ben"

"Hey, I found this on the street in Istanbul yesterday. It actually is an ad (I think) but they just sprayed it on the wall! =) Thought you would enjoy! Love, Ally"
"More on the way, Duffster. Warm regards, Balls."

"Saw these in Paris. Thought they were neat. The man was from Montmartre. The girl was in the Latin Quarter near Rue Mouffetard, I believe. :) Good to see your happy San Fran trip! HN"
Thank you so much, guys! I can't express how much I appreciate your support. :)

April 2010: San Francisco Part 3

I didn't do much sleeping last week, but I did catch up with a lot of people. Tanya took me to brunch at Lime, an experience that was well worth the wait. Louie showed me around Oakland and drove me to a tiny sushi place in San Ramon. Matt and I met up for Indian food and World Cup discussions. Ross met me at the Haight Street party and we reminisced about college days. Reunions are the best, particularly when they occur in amazing locations.

Near the end of my trip, I took a break from walking around and went to see Banksy's Exit Through the Gift Shop. Most excellent! The film features so many of street art's heavy hitters: Space Invaders, Shepard Fairey, Swoon, and (supposedly) the big man himself.

In addition to loving food, I also have a horrible coffee addiction. Normally, I try to limit my caffeine intake, but it was impossible in this city. Fortunately, I had plenty of options:the Grind, Oakside Café, Café du Soleil, Café Internacional. Armed with a giant pint glass (or two) of coffee, I steeled my nerves and prepared for the day.


Biking across the Golden Gate Bridge ranks in the top three of the week's best experiences. I woke up early and rented a bike in North Beach. Now, anyone who's seen me walk would question this decision; I don't have the best balance. But since I'm on my "no fear" grind, I peddled that thing past cars, trucks, and the occasional tour group. As I wound through the Presidio, I snapped shot after shot of that bridge. While I worried there would be wind or fog, the day was clear and I could see all across the bay. Beautiful!
Thanks for bearing with me, guys! I hope you've enjoyed the photos as much as I've loved telling stories. Tomorrow, we'll be back to normal profile formats.

August 2010: Living Walls Conference in Atlanta

The internet is a fabulous tool, but sometimes facetime speaks louder than pixels. In order to really collaborate and share ideas, people have to interact in the real world. Thank goodness for Living Walls, a conference scheduled for August 13-25 in Atlanta, Georgia. The lineup includes speakers, presentations, walls full of art, and three days of really good times. Here are the goods:

"We are piecing together a conference on street art and urbanism entitled: Living Walls, The City Speaks. The
idea is to put the work of a very small subset of the population (street artists, graffiti writers, etc), people who actually interact with space, under the same roof with people who spend their time in a discourse about public space. Our intentions are simply to broadcast to the attendees a wide spectrum of ideas about public space. We hope
that everyone leaves the event looking at the city, its walls, and how we interact with space differently."
"The conference will be split into a few components: a gallery show, a poster show, and a lecture series. For both the gallery and poster show we plan to bring in the works of an international selection of artists. These artists typically make use of the street as an outlet to showcase their work. For the gallery show each artist will be asked to submit some form of documentation of their other works and individual process, along with their submission of artwork. We ask for this type of documentation in order to illustrate via pictures, video, sketches, written form, etc the scale and context in which the artist typically works in public space. The lecture series will not be composed solely of academics. We are seeking out anyone who makes use of space in an interesting way. The last component is documentation of the entire event. The entire show will be heavily documented in the hopes of one day publishing the work."
"We have been seeking artists that re-appropriate the public realm, attempting to take charge of their media space. Thus far, we will be featuring artists such as Miso, know-hope, and Gaia. It will also features lectures by Jordan Seiler (public ad campaign), Jeff Ferrell, as well as several other local critics of public space."
"The event will take place the weekend of August 13 at the Eyedrum in Atlanta. Ironically, this event takes place in the same city, and is scheduled shortly after the largest annual conference on urbanism to happen nationally, the CNU18. We only point this out because such a conference is a testament to the values of development of space, and not the common use of space. Unlike CNU, whose audience is primarily composed of developers and academics who can afford the $200/day entry, Living Walls is addressed to the public, is completely free of charge, is open to participation, and is much more thought provoking. In the truest sense, Living Walls is a grassroots colloquium."

Amazing, guys! For more information, visit livingwallsconference.com.

March 2009: Kef in Aachen

Berlin gets a lot of press for its burgeoning street art community, but don't forget about other parts of Germany. Located near the borders of Belgium and the Netherlands, Aachen boasts cathedrals, tree-lined boulevards, and German artist Kef's wheatpastes. He writes:

"I began doing street art in 2005 after I read a book about street art. Prior to this, I didn't know much about this form of art because I was 16 years old. I created two characters that I've brought to many cities like Cologne, Berlin, Paris, and Dusseldorf."
"While I know many artists, I mostly work alone. I just do my own thing and that is good!"
"At first I liked the typical street art stuff; then, I developed my characters. In the long run, it would've been boring but I transformed my two characters. My works are full of momentary energy and visual harmony."
"My favorite places to paint are very old and isolated locations. There, I enjoy painting with the sense of absolute freedom."
"I am currently working on a print which will be issued this summer in Berlin. I'm also working a project in Switzerland."

Thanks, Kef! View more of his wheatpastes on his Flickr.

Friday ProFile: XPOME

From the beginning, Bulgarian artist XPOME was destined to create in urban areas. Some children casually dabble in building with Legos, but he took his creations seriously. At the age of five or six, he says, he graduated to big kid building materials. “I made my own house,” he elaborates. “It was made out of concrete and glass stones. All rest of the materials came from our family villa house. I used handmade ‘cement’ made from ash, water, and some sand.”

Later on, a casual viewing of Graffiti Art #8 inspired him to switch from building to painting. “It was funny, because I started trying to do whole murals, not tags,” he adds. “Later, I got into more basics and developed my simple letter style.” Simpler lettering called for a simpler name; XPOME is “chrome” in Cyrillic letters; the moniker is short for “chromosome.” Since 2001, he’s covered his hometown of Sofia as well as parts of Germany, Italy, France, and other Eastern European countries with his work.
At first, other writers like Loomit, Daim, and Esher inspired him. Later on, Erosie, Roger, and Relax impressed him. Today, he pulls from all sorts of disciplines, from old graphic design and typography to geometry and architecture. “When I started, I wanted to do complicated murals,” he explains. “At the time, I was doing both characters and letters. Later, I realized that I’m better at graphics than figurative stuff. The Bulgarian writer RAKE indirectly led me to roller and Latex paintings in 2004/2005. After that, I continued my journey into the world of letters.”

In addition to changing up his style, XPOME loves traveling to new places and collaborating with others. “For me it was always about friendship and having a good time,” Together with his crew, he smiles, “I am still looking for the ultimate place.” By keeping the scene fresh, he’s able to experiment and learn. “Sometimes, I do related-to-the-place pieces that have some special message. Otherwise, I am just trying to re-invent my name every time I go out, experimenting with forms, letters and colors or optical effects.”

Pushing the boundaries of his medium means casting off any labels and their limitations. “Classical graffiti is a bit conservative,” he argues. “But I also don’t want to be labeled as a street artist. I just do what I do, no matter what other people call it. I use different techniques, from posters, cans, and rollers to foam and rope." Perhaps XPOME derives joy from his work because he doesn't expect anything in return. “I am doing my work mostly for pleasure,” he insists. “I don't want to get rich out of it. I just want to travel, keep myself young, and live!”

Best of luck, XPOME! For more projects, visit his Flickr.

January 2010: Macaaa in Hackney

I'm a paper-hoarding fiend. Every time I pass a table with fliers, brochures, or postcards, I have to put at least one of each in my bag. At my house, I fill boxes with these seemingly useless items. They wait patiently for my return, dreaming of the day when I'll use them for something. Clearly, I haven't been thinking as creatively as Macaaa. With his uncanny collaging skills, I bet he could turn my boxes of refuse into something beautiful. He writes:

"I started it in 2005 back home in Santiago, Chile. Now I live in Hackney, so most of my work is between Brick Lane and London Fields.""I work by myself, but whenever I need some extra help, my friend Alina always help me with my pasting."
"As I come from a fine art background, collage has always been my first motivation. The media can change (a wall, a sketchbook, etc.), but the papers are always my main source."
"Lots of strange things happen when you're out in the streets! I love when drunk homeless people direct me on my pasting, as if I were truly going to take their advice."
"I'm working on a surf wall for a Brazilian friend and I finished some Valentine's posters that I pasted near my new home after Valentine's Day."

Thanks, Maca! For more colorful collages, visit his Flickr.

February 2010: 999 in Turin

Bush took a lot of heat during his administration, but he's not the only world leader who receives criticism. Turin-based artist 999 knows how to morph a politician's worst qualities into the best form of street art. Armed with his stencils and wheatpasting supplies, 999 covers Italy with social commentary. He writes:

"I started making ‘street art’ with little stickers and stencils in 2005. My old works were uncertain and full of experimentation. Just for fun, I started make stencils and pasteup posters with my friends in my hometown. Afterwards, I looked for my own style and technique. Intrigued by old engravings and illustrations, I found inspiration on the 'net and in old books. Then I take the particulars, reshape them, and mix them with my personal style. I use a lot stencils on paper, so I create posters to pasteup in the streets."
"Now I live in Turin in the north Italy because I go to university there. But my hometown is Termoli, a little city on the coast of the Adriatic sea in the south of Italy. I work everywhere, but most of my posters are on the walls of Turin and Termoli."
"I'm not a collective; I just work by myself. In fact, my production is slow and discontinuous. My real life takes a lot of my time, so I can only work in my free time. However, I have a lot of friends who sporadically help me and I like working with other artists-friends."
"I don't know, really don't know. I realize that my present works are different from old one, but I don't know why. I paint in the backyard of my building in Turin; I make posters and then pasteup in the streets. I paint in the night, when people are sleeping, so I can spray peacefully. I like painting on walls but it's hard with big stencil and I must be fast. So I paint on walls when I can, on abandoned places, during exhibition or events, or even on walls with permission."

"One night, I went out with a local artist. He has a poster with a satirical image of Italian politic Borghezio transformed into a kebab (Borghezio and his political party hate foreign and Muslim people). While we pasted up his poster, we were seen by a police car. They stopped us, examined our documents, threw the glue in a manhole and confiscated the poster because they liked it. They didn't destroy it; they confiscated it to paste up in the police station because in their opinion, it is a really fun image."

Grazie, 999! For more interesting wheatpastes, check out his Flickr.

Friday ProFile: Yote

Street art is fairly common in urban spaces, but it's an oddity out in the desert. Yote was born and raised outside of Washington, DC, but later relocated to northern Arizona. Four years ago, he began messing around with street art, but it wasn't until last year that he adopted the moniker Yote. "The name 'Yote' is slang for 'coyote,'" he explains. "It's most commonly used by those who hunt them. If you do a Google image search for 'yote', the majority of the images are of dead coyotes."

Fortunately, Yote does more painting than he does hunting. In fact, his surroundings profoundly influence his pieces. "Before Yote, I was constantly reinventing my style, making each piece completely different from the previous," he reflects. "I guess I was trying to find my own style and vision. But as Yote, I am focused on rendering animals somewhat realistically and taking whatever I learned from my previous piece and incorporating it into the next." Animals inspire him, but he also loves gleaning ideas from other printmakers. "Without folks like Swoon and Gaia, who knows when I would have learned the potential of the medium on the streets," he insists.
Covering the better part of Arizona from the Navajo Nation to Tuscon, Yote hopes to bring people closer to nature. Speaking of his viewers, he explains, "I would like them to develop a connection with the animal or symbol. Hopefully through repetition, the meaning and power of the symbol will present itself to the viewer, allowing for a deeper connection of themselves and the systems they are a part of."
Conveying a message comes at a price, and Yote's met his fair share of characters while working. "At times I feel unsafe at night," he admits. "In Prescott, I just run into drunks, methheads, and cops, so I try to get up in the daytime as much as possible. In my experience, the more people around, the less likely someone is to say something about me."
At the moment, Yote juggles the responsibilities of studying psychology with creating new pieces. In the future, he plans to push his works further. "I would like to include a lot more colors, patterns, shapes, and symbols," he says. "Currently, I'm painting some large-scale pieces to put up in the Navajo Nation with Jetsonorama." Perhaps he'll even collaborate with some of his wheatpasting heros. He should do it soon before they get too big; when asked to predict the future of street art, Yote imagines, "Ten years from now, I think women will be dominating the streets."

Thanks, Yote! Keep up with his projects by visiting his Flickr.

Also, gotta give a shout out to Sarah's Chor Boogie documentary. They're in the last three days of fundraising, so kick them some change if you have some. This weekend should be great: warm weather! Photo scavenger hunts! Small Black + Washed Out + Tanlines at The Warehouse! Brilliance!

March 2010: Dimitris Taxis in Athens

Greek artist Dimitris Taxis doesn't let mediums pen him in. Sometimes, he's out on the street putting up a fresh wheatpaste. At other times, he's indoors sketching out the next frame of a comic book. Wherever his artistic endeavors take him, he's all about pushing ahead and improving in the future. He writes:

"Well, I started doing graffiti in 1998, but I suppose I got involved with street art in late 2004 when I pasted my first handmade poster somewhere in Athens. At almost the same time, I published my first short story inVavel, a comic magazine, and used the name 'Dimitris Taxis.' I decided to use the same name on the streets too."
"I usually paste my posters alone. I don't have a favorite place, just wherever I feel like working. I prefer ruined neighborhoods, old houses, or abandoned factories."
"I also enjoy collaborations with friends or other artists.Sometimes,when someone spots an abandoned factory or something big enough for a lot of people, we gather around and have some kind of BBQ there: food, beers, graffiti and lots of fun! I love these times!"
"I'm influenced a lot by several 80s-90's European comic artists and, of course, by classic painters/sculptors in art history.Both painting and comics,as well as graffiti and design, has developed my style into what it is today."
"Now I'm working on my posters and experimenting a lot with painting on canvas and wood because I'm preparing my first solo exhibition. I have a lot of work to do till then!"

Thanks, Dimitris! For more photos and updates, stop by his Flickr.