graffiti / street art

[luke]

Princess Hijab: underground resistance
The Paris metro system is under attack - by graffiti artist extraordinaire Princess Hijab, who provocatively adds veils to billboard advertising. Here are some of her best works...


Princess Hijab on the Paris Metro in November 2010


Striking at night with dripping black paint she slaps black Muslim veils on the half-naked 
airbrushed women, and men, of the 
metro’s fashion adverts. She calls it “hijabisation”


She sees herself as part of a new “grafitti of minorities” reclaiming the streets


The work now usually only stays up for 45-minutes to an hour before being ripped down by officials


As a result PH has become highly selective, only doing around four to five grafitti “interventions” ia year


Each is carefully photographed and has its own afterlife circulating online


H&M is one of the artist's favourite targets


Of her work, she comments: “If it was only about the burqa ban, my work wouldn’t have a resonance for very long. But I think the burqa ban has given a global visibility to the issue of integration in France”


And what is the significance of Islam to her? “The spiritual interests me, but that’s personal, I don’t think it bears on my work. Religion interests me, Muslims interest me and the impact they can have, artistically, aesthetically, in the codes that are all around us, particularly in fashion"

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/gallery/2010/nov/10/princess-hijab-graffiti-france-metro

[luke]

this old guy isn't too pleased with the love luke message

[faceless]

Comic street signs ask 'Why did the scarecrow win an award?'
At first glance, they look like official road signs. But closer inspection reveals they are designed not to give directions, but to make the bored motorists chuckle.
Chris Irvine
18 Sep 2008

The signs, which convey a series of jokes, have started appearing overnight on roads around the Wolverhampton area. Tied to lamp posts and traffic lights, the signs have been amusing motorists and passers-by, although their creator remains a mystery.

Driving along Compton Road, drivers can view the sign "Why did the scarecrow win an award?" If they continue down to the junction at Paget Road, the answer is revealed: "Because he was outstanding in his field." On Willenhall Road, a sign outside The Merry Boys pub declares: "Politicians are like nappies". A few hundred yards down the road at a pedestrian cross, the punchline is displayed: "They should be changed regularly and for the same reason."

Other signs can be spotted around the area including "I like Jesus" and "What are you doing in my garden?"

Steve Hodgkiss, 46, from Compton, said the signs made him laugh. He said: "They must have been put up in the middle of the night as they just suddenly appeared on Wednesday morning. I saw the two on Compton Road and at first glance, they looked like real road signs so someone has put a lot of work into them."

Although he is unaware who may be responsible for the signs, he has his suspicions. He added: "I think they are brilliant - maybe somebody just wanted to bring a bit of cheer to Wolverhampton because of all the talk about the credit crunch. The fact two of them are close to Wolverhampton College where there's a large art department might explain who is responsible."

But Wolverhampton City Council have not seen the funny side. Although they could not say how many offending signs had popped up overnight, they said they were being removed as and when the highways agency came across them.

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This is a few years old, but I missed it back then and it's still funny.

[faceless]

Rock n roll, dude - rock n roll!!!

[eefanincan]

3D artist who is simply streets ahead when it comes to drawing on the public's imagination
9th April 2011

Kurt Wenner has been astonishing passers-by for many years now - but if anything his latest designs are his most stunning yet. The street artist extraordinaire, a former NASA employee, uses a clever technique that makes his creations appear 3D. And his most recent works, ranging Spider-man in Japan to gateway to the Caribbean in New York and a rainforest pathway on London's Embankment, are brought together in a new book.

When viewed from the correct angle, street-goers standing on top of them look like they are floating in thin air and solid concrete appear as gaping chasms in a colourful illusion. Kurt, 52, from Michigan, started up in 1982 using pastels and paints to decorate the streets of Rome. He has since using complex calculations from his old job - creating conceptual drawings of extraterrestrial landscapes at NASA - to bring floors and walls to life.

[faceless]

Penis graffiti wins art prize in Russia
metro.co.uk
10th April 2011

Voina, the radical art group behind that giant penis drawing on that drawbridge in Russia, have won a major prize for their efforts. The group painted the 220ft-long phallus on St Petersburg's Liteiny Bridge in protest at heightened security in the city ahead of June's International Economic Forum. As you can see in the video, the idea is that the penis rises, erection-like, when the bridge is raised to let traffic through.

The drawbridge happens to be opposite the headquarters of the FSB security service - one of St Petersburg's tourist attractions. Founded by the Russian culture ministry, the annual Innovation awards saw Voina - or War - scoop the prize for best work of visual art. The award has been won in the past by acclaimed artists including Andrei Monastyrsky and the Blue Noses group. For their work, entitled A Penis In KGB Captivity, Voina bag 400,000 rubles (£8,700), but they skipped last week's award ceremony in Moscow and haven't revealed if they'll accept the prize.

The group's members have spent time in jail for some of their stunts, one of which involved tipping over police cars while officers slept inside. British street artist Banksy, a supporter of their work, helped get them out by contributing to their bail.

[faceless]

Traffic light sex couple leaves town baffled

Red-faced traffic bosses are investigating how pranksters altered a set of pedestrian lights to show a couple making love whenever they turned green. The lights - in Nimwegen, Holland - literally stopped the traffic when passers by stopped to gawp at them during rush hour.

One officer said: 'People kept pressing the button to see the couple having sex and of course every time they did, the traffic had to stop suddenly. We had quite a lot of rear end shunts from drivers who were too distracted.' Transport officials are investigating how computer hackers managed to get into the town's traffic light system to manipulate the image. A Town Hall spokesman said: 'We are looking at who had access and opportunity.'

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[faceless]

Arabic graffitti - Berlin
www.commongroundgallery.de

[faceless]

'Revok' graffiti writer sentenced to 180 days in jail
April 25, 2011

The graffiti writer known as Revok, whose work is displayed in the "Art in the Streets" exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art, was sentenced Monday to 180 days in jail after a judge found that he had violated the terms of his probation in a previous vandalism conviction, court officials said.

Jason Williams, 34, also known as Revok, appeared in a Van Nuys courtroom Monday where he was found to have violated his probation on a misdemeanor vandalism charge by failing to pay adequate restitution to his victims, according to prosecutors. Williams was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport last Thursday as he prepared to board a plane for Ireland. His arrest came amid controversy surrounding the museum's "Art in the Streets" graffiti and street art exhibition, which the Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department have criticized as promoting vandalism and tagging.

Sheriff’s investigators said they are conducting a wide investigation into Revok. "As a result of evidence discovered during his April 21 arrest, other incidents of vandalism were found in the county of Los Angeles," said Capt. Mike Parker.

Investigators said the L.A. County district attorney’s office could file felony charges against Williams, who was arrested by a sheriff’s transit team that specializes in catching vandals. The team recently arrested Cristian Gheorghiu, also known as Smear, another tagger-turned-artist. Gheorghiu received 45 days' community service for violating his probation. He was arrested two days after The Times published a story on his life as an artist with tagging roots.

Revok is among the best known and boldest taggers in Los Angeles. Williams, a one-time member of the graffiti crew “Mad Society Kings” or MSK, was arrested in 2009 in Melbourne, Australia, after a series of highly publicized large pieces. A resident of the Fairfax district, Williams was placed on probation for felony vandalism in Indio in 2009 during the Coachella music festival. He also was arrested in November 2009 by deputies near the 33rd Graffiti Art Store, where images of his graffiti were featured. During a later search of Williams' home, deputies found several hundred paint cans, a police badge and a fire extinguisher — a tool commonly used for applying large tags. They also found a stolen detour sign and digital photos of his graffiti work on his phone.

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[luke]

Bizarrely beautiful: The striking carpet of leaves baffling motorists and pedestrians


Beyond be-leaf: This dazzling carpet of leaves looks particularly striking next to a section of tarmac that is completely unaffected


Collage: It is thought a combination of the late summer high temperatures and an early fall of leaves onto a sticky, non-slip section of road tarmac created the spectacle


Sticky surface: An iconic black-taxi drives across the carpet of leaves. It is unclear how long the unusual pattern will remain on the tarmac


Up close: The leaves have been pressed into the tarmac, leaving a pretty pattern behind


Picture postcard: The curious display has left motorists and pedestrians alike baffled by the collage

London's streets are often described as dirty and drab. But this road in the capital has been given an eye-catching and unusual makeover following the spell of unseasonably hot weather and early autumnal leaf fall.

On first glance, it could be any ordinary street on an autumnal October day.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of leaves cover a central London road. Except there's something distinctly out-of-the-ordinary about this.

This eye-catching carpet of leaves comes complete with abrupt, geometric edges - made all the more striking by the patches of unaffected tarmac next to it.

Motorists and pedestrians have been left baffled by the curious display. Could it be a street art project designed to brighten up the area?

However, there appears to be a more logical explanation behind this. It is thought last week's blistering heatwave was partly responsible for this unusual spectacle.

The combination of unseasonably-high late summer temperatures and an early fall of leaves on to a sticky, non-slip section of tarmac is believed to have created this leafy collage.

When viewed up close, the leaves appear to have been pressed into the tarmac by cars driving on top of them. Whether this spectacle lasts into winter remains to be seen.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2045650/Bizarrely-beautiful-The-striking-carpet-leaves-baffling-motorists-pedestrians.html

[faceless]

[faceless]

Nikita Nomerz turns derelict buildings into faces

A street artist makes derelict structures come alive by adding eyes and facial features. Nikita Nomerz's work ranges from water towers painted to look like they're laughing to dilapidated buildings with broken window frames for eyes. Nomerz, from the western Russian city of Nizhniy Novgorod, travels around various cities in his homeland to carry out his art.

He says: "I started in school with classic hip hop graffiti but became more interested in street art and began all sorts of experiments. Now basically I like to play with space and objects. I am inspired by the place itself. I love watching the city and finding an interesting point. Usually I do not spend so much time to create one work, sometimes less than an hour. But it all depends on the size of the object and my ideas. I have been called an underground artist, but if you're doing street art you're not underground. You're already on everyone's mind, even if you paint on abandoned rubbish and only a couple of homeless people see your work. It is public art. It would be nice if people started paying more attention to what is around us."

Nomerz treats his wall faces as if they were real people with feelings. "I do not know which is my favourite. I do not want to offend any of them, speaking about just one. Because these walls are alive. I love them all!"

Here's his facebook page - CLICK

[major.tom]

[major.tom]

Pretty cool.

[luke]

not street art, but its art and its outside - and its cool, so i'm including it





















http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2113843/The-amazing-beach-artist-Andres-Amador-starts-day-new-canvas.html