Salon.com > street art

New Yorkers’ newest opportunity to step all over you

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 21:39:00 +0000

In an attempt to show the faces of the New Yorkers and tourists who swiftly move through Times Square at an unrelenting 24-hour pace, French street artist JR has set up a photo booth right in its center. Inside Out New York City, which started last night as part of the Times Square Arts public arts program, is a continuation of JR’s Inside Out Project, where the faces of the people who live in a place are made visible on its structure.

Pasting new posters

JR’s photo booth truck

Fred Le Chevalier haunts the streets of Paris

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 18:29:00 +0000

PARIS — As I’ve been wandering the streets of Paris this week, one artist seems to be haunting my path with his dark and elegant street art. Fred le Chevalier, as he signs his work, has paste up drawings of red-lipped pale women posed with strange creatures like owls, large cats, and anthropomorphic suns. Each has its own identity while being immediately recognizable for their hand-drawn details and illustration style. And they’re prolific. I’ve come upon them all over the Marais, Bastille, and Montmartre neighborhoods, each work blending in with Paris’ own identity of beauty, but one that is often dark and strange, with its long twists of history winding through its alluring streets.

Paste ups by Fred le Chevalier

Banksy’s identity has not been revealed

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 21:47:00 +0000

Rumors that elusive London street artist Banksy has been captured and identified are false. The news, which went viral Friday afternoon and has been reported by sites like Jezebel, Democratic Underground and Complex is sourced mainly to this press release that claims to be from the BBC, but is not.

The wire asserts that "London Police say Banksy’s real name is Paul William Horner, a 39-year old male born in Bristol, England. The BBC has also confirmed this information with his PR agent Jo Brooks and the website that acts as a handling service on behalf of the artist, Pest Control."

But a quick Google search indicates that a satire blog with the super unofficial name of "Super Official News" had the same post up 17 hours ago. And at the bottom of the blog, a disclaimer calling its editor (and so-called Banksy identity), Paul Horner, an American hero:

Brooklyn muralist immortalizes Internet martyrs

Sat, 09 Feb 2013 14:00:00 +0000

A little corner of 21st century heroes has sprung up in the form of street art just north of McCarren Park, in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Roller works by BAMN (aka By Any Means Necessary) the artist explained to Hyperallergic why he chose Internet activist Aaron Swartz as the subject of his latest mural:

Swartz was an amazing human being who fought tirelessly for our right to a free and open Internet. He was much more than just the “Reddit guy.” I encourage people to read about his legacy to understand how important he was towards the movement of hacktivists and whistleblowers.

The Swartz mural follows the more controversial Bradley Manning (of WikiLeaks fame) work that first appeared on the street in late 2011. At the time, BAMN explained that he considered himself more of a weekend warrior when it comes to street art, and he said, his “first interaction with street art was through Poster Boy. I liked the idea of a loose collective participating in political art.”

Cairo street art won’t be white washed

Tue, 09 Oct 2012 20:01:00 +0000

Large and vivid murals leading away from Cairo's Tahrir square have, since last year, become unofficial shrines for those killed by the army and the police in Egypt's uprising.

Despite the street art's popularity with locals and visitors, last month municipal workers white washed the mural along Mohamed Mahmoud Street (dubbed "Martyrs' Row"). The Guardian described the cleaning as a "prosaic" attempt by the Muslim Brotherhood leadership to "clean up the streets." However, street artists have responded with enthusiasm, repainting the newly white walls with new graffiti messages, murals and tributes to revolutionaries. As the Guardian noted, a recent message scrawled on Mohamed Mahmoud Street reads, "Erase it again, you cowardly regime."

Twitter user @F_Barreiro tweeted this image on Oct. 9 of Cairo street art, featuring deposed President Hosni Mubarak:
[embedtweet id="255550158819979264"]

While user @Farahismail28 posted this on Oct. 6:
[embedtweet id="254605644055842816"]

Boston mural: A “rorschach test for idiots and racists”

Sat, 11 Aug 2012 11:59:00 +0000

The fact that the Facebook page of a Fox affiliate is full of racism is not that surprising, but the fact that a rather playful mural in the heart of Boston has spurred ridiculously bigoted commentary should be shocking to sane individuals.

Last week, the Brazilian street art twins, Os Gemeos, unveiled their new mural on Boston’s Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway at Dewey Square. Fox Boston couldn’t resist suggesting the work portrayed some sort of controversial figure, and like moths to a flame the xenophobes and anti-Muslim bigots came running.

“This is a new mural on a Big Dig ventilation building. What does it look like to you?” Fox Boston wrote on its Facebook Page with a link to an article on their website titled “Greenway Mural Interpreted as Little Boy, Terrorist” — though it should be noted that the original title appears to have been altered after its initial publication.