David Shillinglaw in Williamsburg


Tristan Eaton and Cyrcle(both very nice guys) in Williamsburg. Tristan is doing another piece on LES(Broome Street) in a day or two and told me that How-n-Nosm are going to be doing the other side of the store next week!

Cost & Dylan Egon

Caught a Kenny Scharf VW today on the road

Top Street Artists Picked to Paint 191st Street 1 Train Tunnel

www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20150506/fort-george/top-street-artists-picked-paint-191st-street-1-train-tunnel

FORT GEORGE — Six artists, including well-known names from the street art world, have been selected to transform the drab 191st Street tunnel into a vibrant passageway beginning this Monday.

The Department of Transportation selected the artists from a pool of 158 applicants, the most proposals ever received for a single project, the agency said. The winners include well-known street artists Andrea Von Bujdoss, who goes by the name Queen Andrea, and Fernando Carlo Jr., aka Cope2.

The DOT also selected Nelson Rivas, a Chilean-born muralist who goes by the name Cekis; Nick Kuzsyk, who specializes in geometric designs and Jessie Unterhalter and Katey Truhn, a Baltimore-based duo who focuses on creating art for public spaces.

“The outcome is going to be incredible,” Emily Colasacco, director of the DOT’s public art program, told residents at a Monday meeting of Community Board 12’s transportation committee. “We can't wait to see it.”

Each of the artists or teams will be given a 200-foot section of the 900-foot tunnel to paint. The designs range from an almost psychedelic geometric pattern to a mural designed to transport viewers from the urban jungle to the rainforest.

Members of the transportation committee were wowed by the designs when the DOT presented the project at Monday night’s meeting.

“Will you get 3-D glasses to walk through the tunnel now too?” asked committee member Mary Anderson.

Von Bujdoss, an Uptown resident, was chosen to paint the tunnels’ Broadway entrance, which currently features a 2008 piece by the Groundswell Community Mural Project. The mural has been damaged over the years by vandalism.

The art installation marks the final step in a months-long process to improve conditions in the tunnel.

In the fall of 2014, the DOT installed brighter LED lights in the space, which residents previously described as “dark” and “creepy.” The tunnel also received new safety mirrors and a fresh coat of paint. However, within a few months, the blank walls were again tagged with graffiti.

Some residents expressed concerns that the new paintings could also fall victim to the same fate.

“Have you thought about vandalism?” asked one man who attended the meeting. “I mean, how will you protect this art?”

Colasacco said that they are hoping the names involved with the project will discourage future vandalism.

“We find that the majority of our works by highly respected artists don’t get tagged,” she told residents.

Some artist like Cope2, who has produced a lot of work in The Bronx and Washington Heights, already have name recognition within the community, Colasacco explained.

“When we were on site recently, a younger gentleman stopped and asked for an autograph from him,” she said. “We have a celebrity on hand here.”

The artists will begin preliminary work on the designs on May 11 and will complete the murals by May 19. The tunnel will be closed to traffic from 10:30 p.m. on May 15th to 5 a.m. on May 19th to allow for painting.

5POINTZ TURNS TROUBLED HIGH SCHOOL INTO NYC’S UNLIKELIEST GRAFFITI MECCA

Over the weekend, the August Martin High School in Jamaica, Queens was transformed into a massive graffiti gallery when over 100 artists such as MERES, CUBA, CYCLE, JERMS, Phetus, POET, YES1, CLAW, Cernesto, KING BEE, Plasma Slug, T-KID, AMUZE, SHIRO, and so many others descended on the massive building and spray painted their work directly on the walls of the facility’s cavernous hallways. Another 30 or so will be returning this weekend. Unlike most graffiti meccas, which emerge from abandoned buildings and decrepit ruins, the school is still active. In fact, its administration and student body actively sought out the urban artists. (Click gallery above to see all the work)

“We need to reinvent ourselves and the way to reinvent ourselves is to empower students,” said Principal Gillian Smith about the project. “The building looks magnificent."

From the outside, the high school is absolutely beautiful. The hulking, three-story facility is punctuated by four massive columns and tall golden doors. But, like the community surrounding it in South Jamaica, August Martin High School is straining to keep its head above water. The majestic doorways open to another, more oppressive set that lead to metal detectors. The high school is considered to be one of the worst schools in New York, struggling to keep a matriculation rate of 39%. Attendance hovers at 70%.

The unconventional idea to bring urban art into the hallways was hatched by students who make up that school’s Dream Team, teens who receive guidance from “Dream Directors” appointed by national non-nonprofit the Future Project. The Future Project works with at-risk schools like August Martin to empower students to realize their goals. “The students said they want to see something they can relate to on the walls,” said Justin, a 16-year-old Dream Team student. “So, we created a project called Operation Skittles to decorate 100% of August Martin’s walls: graffiti, murals, quotes, people, whatever inspired the students to come to school."

The students originally tried to paint the space themselves, but creating murals and getting their peers to participate in such a spatial undertaking isn’t as easy as they thought, so they reached out to 5 Pointz’s MERES One and Marie Flageul to see if they would curate the expansive space. The organization always seems interested in doing large scale, charitable projects since the demise of its beloved fortress in Long Island City. “There’s places where it’s needed more than others, and that’s where we – as a community of artists need to concentrate our energy,” said CLAW about why she participated.

But the collective had one condition: the artists could paint what they want within reason—obviously no pornography or racism. Remarkably, the principal agreed. “If I begin to say you can only do this and you can only do that, then that’s not a partnership,” explained Smith. “That’s no longer empowerment.”

The artists were informed they weren’t going to be paid and would have to bring their own paint, and they still showed up. Dream Students rolled out paper to keep the floor from getting covered and served breakfast and lunch. “Definitely felt obligated considering I came from the same environment growing up,” said 2ESAE, “and to be able to give back and stimulate these kids visually through art with hopes they find ways to express themselves is an amazing feeling. Always give back to the yoot!”

In spite of this freedom to paint what they want, the majority of the artists incorporated school-like themes into their pieces. The area outside the school’s science labs was very focused with two trios of artists — AWZ, ZESONER, and JUST along with AMUZE, JERMS and TOPAZ — painting huge site-specific murals. SEE of the legendary True Fame crew painted an aerosol portrait of Albert Einstein. SKI and 2ESAE from URNewYork and COL Wallnuts barely wrote their names, instead dedicating their space to massive pieces on the third floor that read “create” and “inspire.”

The principal and artists hope the art in the hallways will make the building more inviting. “I hope my piece is like vacation between classrooms or a reason to walk down a different hallway,” said Plasma Slug.

This, in turn, could help boost attendance, one of school’s fundamental issues. “I don’t think looking at a picture of Lauryn Hill or Albert Einstein is going to make the students smarter,” said SEE, “but I do think they will come into the school to see it and once they’re in school, the teachers take over. The catch is: you gotta make it past the doors. If they don’t make it past the doors, the kids don’t stand a chance and the teachers can’t do their job.”

The high school will open its doors to the public on June 11th. Check www.5ptz.com for more info.

m.animalnewyork.com/2015/5pointz-turns-troubled-high-school-into-nycs-unlikeliest-graffiti-mecca/

The 22 Best New Public Art Pieces to See in NYC This Summer

ny.curbed.com/archives/2015/05/19/the_22_best_new_public_art_pieces_to_see_in_nyc_this_summer.php

Great public art is a year-round given in New York City—and something that Mayor Bill de Blasio wants to increase— but it's during the late spring and early summer that creators and curators really seem to break out the big guns. Site-specific spectacles and festivals, interactive sculptural extravaganzas, weirdo installations, blow-out block parties: it's all going down (going up?) in the next few weeks. To make sure you don't miss a single Instagram-able cultural moment, here is a not-exhaustive look at 22 of the season's most exciting pieces, be they highly anticipated or already in place. And if you spot anything amazing that we've missed, please let the world know in the comments.

Welling Court,Queens

Welling Court,Queens

Welling Court,Queens