Cultura De Base Street Art Protest in Barcelona

A week and a half ago, I was in Barcelona and stumbled a protest that seemed well-organized and was immediately engaging. With my limited Spanish, I managed to pick up slogans like, “Beauty is not for sale,” and “Barcelona is dead.” It became immediately obvious that the protest was politically and artfully-motivated.

From an outside perspective, those statements seem extreme, especially considering Barcelona is known for its street art. Street art radiates practically from every corner of the city, and I’m not just talking meaningless little tags here and there. Barcelona is a storehouse of graffiti and street art pieces that actually look as though they took time, passion, commitment, and energy.

What then, caused this outpouring of anger from the art community of Barcelona?

Not many people in Spain speak English that well, so after an hour of standing around wondering, I finally decided to try my luck and ask around. In Spanish, I was told something along the lines of this. The protest stemmed from police actions that resulted in the closing of art spaces in a nearby neighborhood. The closed spaces were important hubs for musicians and artists alike, and as a result, the artistic community felt patronized and felt that bureaucratic decisions involving their livelihoods were being made without their input.

People of all ages participated in the peaceful protest, which was artistic in and of itself. A giant banner was unfurled on which visitors were allowed to scrawl their opinions. A booth tacked with, “Take off your pants!” encouraged visitors to defy the norm and take Polaroids of themselves naked.

It is only in a city like Barcelona with such a lively street art scene that such a demonstration can happen. While I cannot fully grasp the ramifications of all this bureaucracy on the Barcelona art community, I sincerely hope that it emerges from this better than before.

If you can read Spanish, head on over to culturadebase.net to find out more information about this movement. If you know more information about Cultura De Base, please share your knowledge. Thanks!

Sticker Crazy? Label 228 Project & Hello Sticker Project

Are you obsessed with sticking crap on street poles?

Then get your work published alongside artists like Zoso and Aaron Kraten!

We covered this project in the Spring 2008 print issue of REDEFINE, but it’s time the web got a taste of the Label 228 Project, an unpaid labor of love started by artist Camden Noir.

One of Camden’s images.

Another project that has recently caught our attention is the “Hello, my name is…” art book project. Not quite sure what their official name is, but one thing is clear: they need a better name. Haha.

To our knowledge, the Label 228 Project is still seeking a publisher, and the Hello Sticker book will be published in late 2010. Thus far, however, it seems that the Label 228 Project as a head start in terms of content quality. It will be interesting to see how all this pans out.

(And wait… what’s this right here? Is there’s another? How many of these projects are there?)

6emeia’s SÃO and Delafuente Beautify Urban Sprawl

For those of you who have been paying attention lately, some of the latest greatest accomplishments in the street art world seem to be originating from South America. What better place for 6emeia to be than in Brazil’s largest city, São Paulo?

6emeia (which loosely means “six and a half” in Portuguese) is comprised of Anderson Augusto, also known as SÃO, and Leonardo Delafuente, also known as Delafuente. What they’re doing is beautifying urban sprawl and decay. Manhole covers, electrical boxes, and storm drains are all fair game for being painted with sickingly cute animals or homages to past artistic innovators like Jackson Pollock and Vincent Van Gogh.

Batman and Robin!

Mouse and cheese!

Vincent Van Gogh and ear!

Lighter and… light!

Many more examples of these works and full-fledged murals can be found on their website, at 6emeia.com!

Free Art From A Large Scary Man

Apparently a Large Scary Man likes art, too. This was found in Greenwood. Sign me up for this shit! He clearly has some level of dedication, as he’s spending not only his time but his postage monies.

Maybe you should be progressive too. Please feel free to share your free art here

Free Sheep Foundation Breathes Life Into Belltown

I’ll be the first to say that I’m not a huge fan of Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood. Sure, there are a few cool things like Shorty’s, Roq La Rue, and The Big Picture, and it was once (or perhaps soon again) the home of the legendary Crocodile Cafe. Sure, sure. But for every one of those cool things comes one annoying, expensive, hoity-toity club or restaurant. It’s probably one of the places in Seattle I’d least like to spend my time in.

Nonetheless, Free Sheep Foundation has opened up a new gallery in the husk of an abandoned building in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood. The location is just a couple blocks from the Roq La Rue / BLVD Gallery section of Belltown, and they are [temporarily?] doing some pretty amazing things in this stripped down space.

I’ve been sitting on these pictures forever and this opening was earlier this month, but I hope you enjoy them, weeks later.

Static Invasion / Scntfc installation, commenting on the ‘progress’ of Seattle’s new crazy building expansion projects. Static Invasion is a group of artists that use vinyl clings to promote street art as opposed to permanent methods. Pretty amazing.

No Touching Ground installation.

D.K. Pan installation.

Experimental music takes the stage in one of the back rooms.

Click here to view more about the gallery. Hollar.

The Slave Cult Of Consumerism… Street Art Style!

This sticker was found in the streets of Chinatown in Seattle, near the train station. At first, it just looks like some Guantanamo-esque prisoners, but closer inspection finds that the main jumpsuited man is holding shopping bags. A street art message on the slave cult of consumerism? I’d say so.

Artist unknown. Tips about names would be beautiful.

Street Artist Banksy Unmasked by the Daily Mail?

OUR ART BLOG HAS MOVED. CHECK OUT THE UPDATED BLOG AT http://www.redefinemag.com/arts/!

Banksy is legendary. In the UK, he’s pretty much a household name. Yet, mysteriously, very few people know who he really is. Those who do have done well through the years in keeping his name secret from the real public.

Much of Banksy’s work is humorous, and others have been known for subverting the media and popular icons. He’s had pieces of the Mona Lisa with a rocket launcher, crafted his own fake copies of Paris Hilton’s debut album, and made one of the UK’s most famous graffiti pieces — the one of two policemen kissing. Many of his projects have no doubt walked the line between the legal and the illegal, and some have clearly been illegal. Yet, no one has truly known who he was, and he has been safe from much scrutiny because of it.

But today the Daily Mail published an article that reveals who Banksy really is — or so they claim. It shows pictures of his work and house ‘he’ grew up in, reveals ‘his’ full name, and practically tells ‘his’ life story before he became Banksy. The article closes with a quote that Banksy by Banksy himself, saying to Swindle Magazine, “I have no interest in ever coming out. I figure there are enough self-opinionated a**holes trying to get their ugly little faces in front of you as it is.”

So why would the Daily Mail decide to share all this information and more (given that it is true)? It seems rather disrespectful.

If they aren’t correct, what about poor Robin Gunningham? Harassment incoming? People seem to be citing obituaries that detail a couple of deceased Robin Gunninghams… but that’s hardly worth anything, because who knows how many there are?

OUR ART BLOG HAS MOVED. CHECK OUT THE UPDATED BLOG AT http://www.redefinemag.com/arts/!

Deuce 7 at BLVD Gallery

It’s been a while since an artist has completely blown my mind — especially in the urban art and illustration world — but Deuce 7’s work did just that. They feature fantastically whispy lines, bright colors, and figures that walk the fine line between abstract and realistic. His pieces are somewhat juvenile like a child’s story book, yet ornate like the trimmings on a Gothic church. Coupled together, the result is nothing short of amazing — like a twisted children’s fairy tale.

Due to eavesdropping, I found out loosely that this piece was the result of driving past the same 7 mile Flathead tunnel in Montana over and over again. It doesn’t look exactly like this in real life. A shame. (Photo from Deuce 7’s Flickr account.)

Three pieces that took over the north wall of BLVD.

Deuce 7 takes care of people like me who don’t have money to burn with an assortment of framed little pieces that are every bit as intricate as the large ones, but cost much less — from $75 to $200.

Trust me — these pictures do not do Deuce 7 justice. Friday, July 11th, was the opening reception for his current show at the BLVD Gallery. It’ll run until August 2nd, 2008, so please, be sure to check it out.

More information at BLVD Gallery’s Website

Kunsthaus Tacheles in Berlin, Germany

Kunsthaus Tacheles, sometimes known simply as Tacheles, is an artist loft on Berlin’s Oranienburger Straße. Slightly difficult to find, but very much worth the experience. Lots of great art, with artists from all over the world, making language barriers not too big a problem. Six floors covered with graffiti on every possible surface makes it slightly intimidating (at least at night), but if you’re in Berlin, Tacheles in a must-see.

Visit Tacheles’ website.

Artopia in Georgetown Strikes Again, Part 2

Dan Corson’s Spatial Matrix. Spatial matrixes are nothing new — I saw one at another gallery just a couple days ago — but this one is a little unique. It was an installation at the Georgetown brewery’s former “Engine Room”; clear indigo panels were put up over the windows, and steel cables ran from the ceiling to the floor, with neon stripes painted on them. The result looks is cables that almost look as though they are trembling.

Another view.

Head on over to Dan’s website to see more works. Although I’ve never known Dan’s name, I have seen his works throughout the city of Seattle, and his installations are actually quite commonplace throughout the city. Go take a look; you might be surprised, too.

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A playhouse encased in concrete? Artist unknown.

The Bald Man is watching you

Updated version, courtesy of Jeanine Anderson!