(Note: Vecchio is currently chair of SVA MFA Illustration as Visual Essay, replacing the late founder of the program, Marshall Arisman.)

Would you explain the concept behind the drawings in your special issue of Un Sedicesimo?
31 Degrees is a participatory art project that sets out to draw attention to historically neglected populations and defunded neighborhoods in NYC, areas suffering from environmental and climate injustice that are disproportionately negatively impacted by heat, in an effort to aid local activism in their efforts to increase tree canopy in the areas that need it most. The project aims to partner with local grassroots organizations who are currently engaged in bringing attention to issues of systemic racism in their struggle to resolve environmental and climate injustices, as well as educational and cultural institutions.

Where does your project’s title come from?
The project’s title, 31 Degrees, takes its name from a collaborative study, part of a larger heat-mapping initiative in cities across North America, that heat-mapped parts of upper Manhattan and the Bronx, helping identify areas where environmental justice issues are a concern. The study found that due to low levels of tree coverage and green space, poorer neighborhoods, predominantly communities of color, are disproportionately negatively impacted by heat. Not only is heat distributed unequally in NYC, creating what is known as urban heat islands, its distribution follows other patterns of inequality such as race and income inequality. 31 Degrees references one particular day in July when the temperature difference varied by that amount from one upper middle class area in Manhattan to one of the city’s poorest communities of color in East Harlem and the Bronx.

The drawings have a print quality …
The drawings themselves take inspiration from old masters such as Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528) and Albrecht Altdorfer (1480–1538), two artists considered the first landscape artists in the Western canon, who were painting trees and landscape without religious or other context, appreciating nature for its own sake. With this background, I created drawings of trees originally native to the New York area, like pines, fir and spruce, but which will become increasingly less widespread with the escalation of climate change.

What are you thinking about scale?
The project anticipates the drawings will be translated into both large- and smaller-scale murals. For the more intimate murals, each drawing will be printed as a poster-sized sheet, and with the collaboration of the public, they will be wheatpasted onto donated wall space to create site-specific tree designs imagined by the participants themselves. The purpose of the murals is to underscore the lack of tree canopy in these neighborhoods, while at the same time adding some arboreal beauty with the drawings in areas where walls are more prevalent than trees.

What is the significance of the mural to the cityscape?
For 31 Degrees, muralling is used as a vehicle to bring people together to participate in a creative process that provides the background for dialoguing around the parallels between climate inequality and income and racial inequality, and how we can raise our collective voices to correct this. The aim is to work together with organizations that are already present in the community focused on local issues, and through a hands-on creative process to encourage a sense of agency. But first, people must become aware of the issues, and then, that there are steps that can be taken to correct these problems. There are even newly enacted laws (both at the city and state level) that communities can call upon to hold our elected officials accountable.

What will it take to plant the trees?
On a practical level, only the NYC Dept. of Parks and Recreation can legally plant trees in the city. All requests for trees and all coordination must be approved and go through them. But, the real answer is, it takes the will and mobilization of the community to demand a healthier environment, one that they are legally, and according to the NYS Constitution, entitled to.

In a bold move to capture the essence of the New York City home-buying experience, StreetEasy has partnered with Mother New York to decorate the city streets with Renaissance-style paintings. These visually striking artworks vividly portray the odyssey-like challenge of purchasing a home in the Big Apple.

These ads have become impossible to ignore, as seen on bustling subway cars, iconic yellow taxi toppers, and even a complete takeover of the Broadway-Lafayette station. The campaign has now reached new heights with two hand-painted murals by Colossal Media gracing Wythe & N. 14th St. in Williamsburg and Spring & Lafayette St. in Nolita.

Navigating the real estate market in New York City has always been an adventure, but today, it can feel as elusive as acquiring a masterpiece. Despite the city’s reputation as a haven for renters, StreetEasy’s data reveals a surprising statistic: 1 in 5 New Yorkers are actively browsing homes for sale alongside those searching for rental properties.

As the campaign coincides with the spring home shopping peak, the Renaissance-inspired art style perfectly captures the complex and often dramatic emotions accompanying the search for a place to call home in the city that never sleeps.

“Let The Journey Begin” dramatizes key milestones of the home buyer’s journey in the style of Renaissance art: from deciding whether to renew a lease, searching the five boroughs with an agent at the helm, right up to the moment of getting the keys and becoming your own landlord.

Advertising to New Yorkers is an interesting creative challenge. On one hand, you have a population capable of tuning out almost anything. On the other hand, you have a savvy audience who can appreciate a clever ad that speaks to their experiences, which StreetEasy certainly has a track record of doing. ‘Let The Journey Begin’ touches on a uniquely New York problem and does it in a style that will stand out in the city’s sea of distractions.”

Nedal Ahmed, Executive Creative Director at Mother New York

These murals serve as more than just a visual spectacle; they encapsulate the aspirations, struggles, and triumphs of individuals embarking on the quest for homeownership in one of the world’s most dynamic metropolises. Through their artistry, StreetEasy and Mother New York have not only adorned the streets but have also painted a poignant portrait of the enduring allure and challenges of New York City’s real estate landscape.

Images courtesy of Colossal Media, banner image courtesy of StreetEasy.

To honor Adams’s legacy and impact and to chart his journey to stardom, Dania Beach’s Mad Arts is currently hosting a retrospective of his work entitled “CEY ADAMS, DEPARTURE: 40 Years of Art and Design.” The show contains over 60 of Adams’s designs in various media, including photography archives, mixed media collage, paintings, textile, fashion, street art, contemporary fine art, and more. The exhibition serves as a visual timeline of Adams’s artistic evolution, beginning in the 1970s when he started out painting graffiti on the streets and trains of New York City. The show is on view through May 26th, with Adams himself on-site this Friday, April 19th.

While in Florida, Adams will also make an appearance at The Museum of Graffiti for the launch of their latest exhibition, “Sneaker Stories,” which delves into the historical ties and cultural relationship between graffiti and sneakers.

I recently had the honor of speaking with Adams myself about DEPARTURE, and the secret to his success. Our conversation is below (edited for length and clarity).

Whoever said you can get more flies with honey than with vinegar knew what they were talking about.

Cey Adams

How does one go about curating a retrospective of this magnitude? Forty years is a long time! 

I sat down with the curator, Liza Quiñonez, and we talked about my journey and what it meant to me. I said I wanted this exhibition to be a vehicle to tell the story of a young teenager who started out writing graffiti. Along the way, I’ve had an opportunity to make art and meet some extraordinary people. I wanted to showcase everything I have in my archive and, if we’re lucky enough, to also find a lot of the original art from back in the day that I made when I was a kid. That was how we thought about it.

I still have relationships with many people from 40 years ago, and I got on the phone and asked people to loan me pieces. Folks were kind enough to loan us certain pieces—some things I had in my personal collection. I also have boxes and boxes of photos from back in the day, so we just laid everything out, and we figured out how we could make something that really makes people feel like they’re on this journey with me.  

How did it feel to excavate so much of your past like that?

It was really emotional because I don’t get to look at these things all the time; I’m focusing on what I’m doing today. But looking back has been absolutely wonderful because only a small handful of my peers are lucky enough to have a career. I could count on one hand the number of people I knew from back then who are still working at a high level to this day. 

A lot of the journey is about trying to figure out how to make it because none of this stuff was promised to us. That’s what I realized when I looked at the work—and I’m still working!

What do you think propelled you to this incredible career and a level of success that so many other artists will never reach? 

It’s a combination of talent, passion, and perseverance. And being a nice person; if you’re kind to people, people want to be around you. If you rub people the wrong way, they don’t want to be around you. That’s a lot of what it is! I know because I have friends who could not crack the code, and they haven’t been able to carve out a career for themselves.

I learned that, by being who I am, people who love your work and love being around you will call you. The same thing happens with people who support your work. Everybody who buys my paintings and supports my mural work are the people I enjoy being around, and the feeling is mutual. That’s not lost on me.

Everything is about the journey and if you’re not enjoying the journey, what’s the point of it all?

It sounds simple, but being genuinely likable can get you far in life! We lose sight of that sometimes. 

Whoever said you can get more flies with honey than vinegar knew what they were talking about. I learned that as a teenager, and you can see it in all the old photographs in the show. I’m always happy to be around people who treat me well. Everything is about the journey and if you’re not enjoying the journey, what’s the point of it all?

As humans, we get caught up in the mythical concept of a destination and “making it” or achievement, but that’s missing the point.

You hear people say it all the time, but you don’t understand it. But that’s one of the things that I was lucky enough to learn right from the start— the journey is its own reward. It might sound strange when you’re trying to get somewhere, and you think there’s some better thing, but you must remind yourself to be in the moment and to enjoy it because that’s what it’s about.

That is the essence of what being an artist is all about—getting to make what you want to make on your own terms. You have to take stock of that every day because that’s as good as it gets! You have to enjoy the moment.

What has been the biggest surprise of your career?

I didn’t imagine having friends I would know for 40 years; that’s certainly a surprise. And to have good friends is an even better surprise: people that show up. When I turned 50, I had a surprise birthday party, and the room was packed with all these people who flew into New York to celebrate me. I never imagined any of that! It certainly didn’t happen in my 20s; I don’t even know if it happened in my 30s. But by the time I reached my 40s, people started to show up in major ways. It’s been that way ever since, but I’m beyond appreciative because I’ve had these milestone moments.

It’s a beautiful thing to have people who care about you, support you, and show up for you. 

I’m not coming in after they’re superstars. I’m there to help shape what is going to be the thing that everybody’s familiar with. 

Looking back on your career for the exhibition, is there a time period, moment, or project that you’re proudest of? 

The thing that I’m most proud of is that I got an opportunity to do this kind of work. I got to be the guy that worked with Jay-Z. I got to be the guy that worked with Dave Chappelle. I got to be the guy that worked with LL Cool J, Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, Run-D.M.C.—I’m talking about from ground zero. I’m not coming in after they’re superstars. I was there to help shape the thing that everybody’s familiar with.

Usher was the Super Bowl halftime show this year—do you know how big you have to be to be the Super Bowl halftime act? And I worked on his first record! Like, wow! I’ve been very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with so many amazing, talented people before anybody else.

Have you maintained relationships with any of those stars you helped create? 

Sure! I was in LA a couple of months ago at a dinner with Jay-Z, Jermaine Dupri, and Diddy— everybody was there. We’re all sitting down and enjoying each other’s company, and it felt like, you know, that thing where you’re at a reunion, and everybody showed up. Nobody’s got security, hangers-on, handlers, and all of it. It was just us—just like it was back then. And we had the best time that night. I never wanted it to end because it was so wonderful.

I’m one of the lucky ones that gets to be treated the exact same way as back when we first started.

People hadn’t changed. There’s a perception that people are this way or that way, or they don’t want to be bothered. I realized that I’m one of the lucky ones who gets to be treated the same way as back when we first started, and that’s exactly what you want. You could have this dream that maybe one day I’ll run into so-and-so, and they’ll be really kind to me, but most people don’t get to experience that. I got to experience that. It felt as good as it did in the beginning, only better, because now we’re dressed up! Everybody’s happy! Everybody’s needs are all met, and they’re as friendly as can be! That is not a small thing.

Way back when, did you ever get an inkling that any of those guys would get as big as they did?

No! You can’t predict anybody would get as big as these folks have gotten. You just can’t! Also, I didn’t have that kind of vision because I hadn’t been there. The idea that I started as a graffiti artist, and by 2016, I was on the National Mall making a giant piece of my original artwork in front of President Obama in a ribbon-cutting ceremony! That’s the definition of a dream come true. And I get to have my name alongside all these great people who have come up in hip-hop; it’s just the best! It’s the absolute best.

A lot of my career has been about being first, and that’s what’s so amazing to me. It’s that I got an opportunity to be one of the first, and it’s come around again and again and again. It’s not lost on me because there’s no blueprint.

Is your career now a blueprint for the next generation?

I doubt it because so many things had to be aligned for it to happen. Also, you can’t put the genie back in the bottle. This was the very beginning when hip-hop was not in its infancy, but right after that. I got to benefit from all the hard work that some of the early pioneers from the 70s put in, but because I was an artist, and nobody had seen anything like that. I was really fortunate to be in the right place at the right time, and that’s also the benefit of growing up in New York City.

It’s been incredible to see the unique and individual interpretations of the Coca-Cola logo. … We’re proud to celebrate and embrace their work.

Islam ElDessouky, Coca-Cola Global Vice President of Creative Strategy & Content

While many brands are quick to protect their copyrighted materials and likenesses, Coca-Cola has recently launched a campaign that does the opposite, celebrating the many interpretations of their logo created around the world for generations. The ‘Every Coca-Cola is Welcome’ campaign (developed by WPP Open X, led by VML, and supported by Essence Mediacom and Ogilvy PR) embraces and showcases grassroots interpretations of the wordmark created by bodegas, shopkeepers, and local artists. Instead of slapping these creators with lawsuits or cease-and-desists, Coca-Cola is honoring the distinct and diverse ways people have reimagined the brand. 

“It’s been incredible to see the unique and individual interpretations of the Coca-Cola logo,” said Islam ElDessouky, the Global Vice President of Creative Strategy & Content at Coca-Cola, in a press release. “These visuals are so meaningful and impactful—signs for local businesses capturing colors of cultures and personalities of communities. We’re proud to celebrate and embrace their work.”

The campaign features a range of logo interpretations that span color palettes, fonts, and styles in out-of-home and print placements throughout Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, Australia, and the US. Each unofficial logo offers us a view through a different cultural lens, honoring those who have sold and consumed Coca-Cola globally. ‘Every Coca-Cola is Welcome’ also consists of a robust content series, including films and interviews capturing stories from local store owners and their interpretation of the Coca-Cola logo. This video component of the campaign will run on the brand’s YouTube and Instagram.

“What is so special about this campaign is that the Coca-Cola brand is being reinterpreted in every corner of the world through countless creative expressions,” elaborated Rafael Pitanguy, the Deputy Global Chief Creative Officer at VML. “These reinterpretations are only possible because the Coca-Cola logo is so ingrained in culture across the globe.” At its core, ‘Every Coca-Cola is Welcome’ shows how brands can see imitation as the highest form of flattery and use it to their advantage.

The real estate developers Tom and Fred Elghanayan, founders of TF Cornerstone, knew they had to beautify the view to command luxury rents. They turned to Karlssonwilker for this deceptively simple, yet incredibly complex challenge.

Over the next five years, the designers—whose client list includes an international roster of museums and other design-forward organizations—figured out how to transform the wall into a dreamy cloudscape with winged creatures flying above, a little tsunami and the city skyline below, and poetry throughout. Now, each apartment that faces the wall has a remarkable and unique view. If a unit faces the street or the Hudson River, the tenants can enjoy the mural from the building’s courtyard garden, gym, or hotel-like gathering spaces. Nonresidents can view it from across the street, where this formerly desolate part of town—home to auto showrooms and repair shops as well as the Department of Sanitation—has transformed itself to serve residents with upscale coffee shops, a Pilates studio, a preschool, even a pet daycare center.

All this took time to come about. Karlssonwilker submitted design proposals that featured fields of grass, meadows of flowers, and verdant forests. There was a lengthy exploration of robots that would scale the walls, shoot paint, and change the vista with every 100-foot climb and descent. At first, the developers felt the $2 per square foot cost to get the robots in motion was reasonable. Still, complications ranged from potential insurance liability to the need for approvals from the Public Design Commission, the Community Board, and the Department of Sanitation, whose wall it technically is. “Ideas are not always bought by the client,” explained Karlsson, “but we keep working until an idea we love is loved by the client, too.”

The designer-client discussion soon turned to this: What would be there if the wall didn’t exist? Well, there would be sky, clouds, water … and the NYC skyline—a view one would never tire of. And the color scheme? It needed to be soothing, offensive to no one, pleasurable to all.

I recently had the pleasure of joining Karlssonwilker partners Hjalti Karlsson and Vera Yuan at the property and taking a tour led by TF Cornerstone principal and SVP Zoe Elghanayan. Every client meeting should be like theirs: a relaxed discussion, a look at the past and the future, and an analysis, in this case, taking in views of the mural from apartments on different floors and discussing such issues as where to extend the mural and in what year the paint might need a touchup.

Left: Client meeting in an apartment kitchen. L-R: Hjalti Karlsson, Zoe Elghanayan, Vera Yuan. Right: The meeting continues in the garden space between the building and the wall.

When the four of us sat down to chat, my first question was, “How did you meet?” Elghanayan’s response: “Through a referral.” It’s a truism that the most exciting projects come to designers not by waiting for the right clients to discover them, not by cold-calling, and not by falling for email pitches promising lists of fabulous prospects, but by referral.

As it happened, Anne Pasternak, the director of the Brooklyn Museum, had commissioned Karlssonwilker to design an anniversary book for the organization she previously led, Creative Time. The designers invented what they called the Real-Time Recording Machine, which, driven around Manhattan on a glass-walled truck, captured snapshots of sounds, colors, and people’s comments that were applied to individual covers so that each book, like the works of the artists Creative Time champions, was a unique work of art in itself.

TF Cornerstone realized that if Karlssonwilker could come up with that, they could devise something equally original and valuable for them. They were the only design firm consulted.

“Karlssonwilker has been a pleasure to work with, and I don’t feel that way about everyone,” Elghanayan said with a smile. She is especially keen on the poetry. Tucked into the mural’s composition are 16 poems, six in the public domain, including works by Edna St. Vincent Millay and Walt Whitman, and ten written especially for the project by mambers of the Poetry Society of New York. “We collaborated with the Poetry Society to choose local poets to write up to 200 words that celebrate New York neighborhoods and their history and architecture,” Karlsson explained.

“I’m a big fan of image and text combinations in art,” Elghanayan pointed out. At TFC, we’re so inspired by the city, and the poetry adds an important dimension. It’s a story wall. I was so proud to bring the local poets here for a tour,” she added, pointing out how the art program throughout the interior of the building continues the theme of image and text. “In many ways, the mural enhances and supports the art program,” she said. “It also enhances TFC’s reputation for going the extra mile to enhance the quality of life for residents.”

“Storytelling has been an ongoing motif in Karlssonwilker’s” work, Yuan noted. “Without the poems, it wouldn’t be the same wall.”

“Hand-painting the Trade Gothic typeface was challenging,” Karlsson recalled, but we worked through it on-site with the painters.”

If the design process was lengthy, the painting process was speedy. A rigging was set up. The outlines of the mural were printed in vertical strips. Holes were popped through the outline and transferred to the wall with charcoal. A team of painters from Artfx Murals, responsible for some of the most spectacular outdoor murals around New York City, worked on it at full tilt for four weeks straight.

Every major design project begs answers to questions like: What has it accomplished for the client’s business? Has it helped raise the company’s profile or revenues and made it easier to accomplish its goals? Has it inspired others to pull off a similar sleight of hand?

“The mural has helped reduce the amount of turnover in units that would have been facing a blank wall,” Elghanayan said. “Feedback during apartment tours has been positive. In fact, bad weather appears to increase how well the mural is received, which speaks to its success as an extension of reality. Karlssonwilker accomplished a phenomenal design feat that can’t be easily copied,” she emphasized, “and if someone tried, I imagine it wouldn’t be as successful. Also, given the grand scale of the wall, I don’t think too many others would take on the beautification challenge that we did.”

If you’d like to see more of “The Mural at the Max,” visit karlssonwilker.com or drop by 606 West 57th Street and take a look for yourself. (And, on a hot summer day, swing by Karlssonwilker’s studio in Ridgewood, Queens, and get some very special ice cream.)

Header photo and additional photos in story provided by author.

Some have clutched their pearls at the buildings’ makeover, considering the graffiti vandalism and calling the state of the buildings an eyesore. Meanwhile, others have welcomed the transformation, making the point that the real tragedy is that three 53-story billion-dollar apartment buildings have sat dormant in the city’s center for five years and that artists bringing life and flair to the buildings is beautiful.

It became a staple in Los Angeles, and I am grateful and honored to be a part of it.

Fleat, graffiti artist

One of the graffiti artists who took his talents to these buildings happens to be a friend of mine. He goes by the moniker Fleat, and has been doing graffiti in LA and beyond since the mid-90s.

Fleat was introduced to graffiti by his uncle, a graffiti writer in LA in the late 80s and early 90s. “He was really inspiring because he was a graffiti artist, not just a tagger,” Fleat says. “A lot of people in LA just vandalize, but he was an actual artist.” Fleat was about ten years old when he first picked up the can, and he’s been painting ever since. He’s not only making his mark in his hometown of West LA and Venice Beach but also all over the world, traveling to Guatemala, Greece, Taiwan, Barcelona, Colombia, and the Philippines. He networks with local artists in each destination, usually meeting them at art stores while getting supplies. Through these connections, he finds places to paint and other graffiti writers to collaborate with. “It’s just a beautiful thing; they treat me well everywhere,” he shares. “The feeling is out of this world. I never thought I would feel this good over graffiti.”

One of the graffiti artists Fleat has met through his work is a prolific writer named Pemex, who recently visited LA from Northern California, where he’s based. His trip coincided with this massive graffiti moment gripping the city, and Fleat and Pemex couldn’t miss it. They hatched a plan for the excursion, gathering old paint Fleat had kicking around from previous projects, and then set out on a mission to the buildings late one night.

By the time of their outing, artists had utterly transformed the buildings, each writer claiming a window, leaving their tag behind in bold letters up above. “It was already grilled, but there were open spaces,” says Fleat of the state of the buildings when they arrived. They scouted out two open windows near one another at the top of one of the buildings and dove in. “Getting inside the property is probably a quarter of the battle. In graffiti, somebody has always cut a hole out somewhere,” explains Fleat. “We saw a few people coming out, and they told us there was a hole nearby.”

Once inside, it was go time. Fleat and Pemex began their long journey up the stairs of the building, dripping in sweat under the weight of their clothing layers and bags of supplies. “It was really tiring,” says Fleat, always mindful of the risks inherent to doing graffiti. “When you do things like this, danger is lurking. Anything can happen.” The duo reached the 49th floor, and Fleat claimed the first blank window. He walked through the empty unit, out to the balcony, and got to work. “I’ve never been that high before. I’ve never felt the air that high. And it was one of those rainy, gloomy nights.”

Fleat talked to himself as he worked to stay motivated and inspired and to remain calm. When he works, he cuts out all distractions to stay focused; he doesn’t even listen to music. “It’s conducting business at 100%,” he explains. “There’s no room for error.” It took Fleat roughly an hour and a half to complete his piece, which features his moniker in vibrant letters that blend down from pink to purple to black, all outlined in bright yellow.

Fleat tells me that the end of every piece feels like a dream come true, and this one was no different. “That’s how I treat every piece,” he says. “It goes deep. I get really emotional; I get overwhelmed with happiness.” Being part of this project, in particular, has been especially meaningful to him. “It became a staple in Los Angeles, and I am grateful and honored to be a part of it,” he reflects.

But what’s to become of this public art piece? There are reports that the LA City Council has just voted to allocate $4 million toward efforts to remove the graffiti and secure the building from future tagging.

The fleeting nature of graffiti is part of the deal, though, and artists like Fleat are at peace with that. “It’s just part of it. It’s already incorporated in the culture, but it won’t be there forever,” he says. “I’m not tied to any of my pieces; some kid might go over it, somebody might run a line through it, anything.” With this reality at the core of the art form, graffiti artists find value more in the moment of creation than in their finished product. The art is in the experience of execution—finding the hole in the fence, trekking up the 49 flights, bracing yourself against the windy gloom with the paint can in your hand. Once finished, the piece takes on a life of its own and belongs to the next artist, whoever (or whatever) that might be.

Highland Park was and still is the place to be, but not necessarily for the trendy new restaurants, boutiques, and other businesses that seem to pop up along its thoroughfares overnight. What actually makes the neighborhood sing are the relics of the original community that have endured. The handful of longstanding small businesses that have held out, the recreation center that buzzes with kids playing baseball on weeknights, and, of course, the large, eye-catching mural that gleams from the wall of a building on the corner of N. Figueroa and N. Avenue 61. 

This is “Mexico-Tenochtitlan: The Wall that Talks,” an expansive 12-by-75-foot mural that depicts Chicano and Latino figures and motifs in bold colors and stirring imagery. I passed this mural daily when I lived just a few blocks away from it for two years, and was endlessly captivated by its immersive world. Though I lacked the cultural context and understanding of its significance to the community at the time, the importance of its message radiated from its visuals, along with the love behind its creation.

This past March, the Los Angeles City Council rightfully designated “Mexico-Tenochtitlan: The Wall that Talks” as a Historical-Cultural Monument in a unanimous decision. This public art piece was a 1996 collaboration between the Quetzalcoatl Mural Project and a group of local Chicano muralists, and the community has maintained the mural as a labor of love for 27 years. It continues to honor the culture, heritage, and lore of a resilient community in a rapidly changing part of the city.

“This mural represents working together. The significance of it is that it’s a Chicano mural that represents the social consciousness of its own people,” Anthony “Eagle” Ortega, the Cultural Arts Director at the Quetzalcoatl Mural Project, told me. “I’m just glad that this historic piece is now going to be part of that from now on.”

Ortega was one of the original muralists to first put paint to wall in 1996. He was a driving force behind the initial idea for the mural itself, which partly pays homage to his best friend, Daniel Robles, an honor roll student who was killed by unnecessary street violence in 1995. “He and I would discuss humanity, and how we as a society have drifted away from that— how do we go back to that humane way of being?” he said. “Both of us were thinking about that, and then one day we started talking about murals. About how great it would be to express yourself, to talk about social change, to bring about a social message, in a mural. Much of our problems are not resolved unless we begin to look through the lens of an artist. Where you’re able to shift the ideas and draw awareness to it. That’s what we try to do with the mural, and we do it to honor my best friend.”

Ortega first moved to Highland Park when he was in his 20s in the mid-90s, at a time when the neighborhood was becoming an increasingly exciting site for Chicano arts and culture. “We had all of these groups and entities that were mushrooming into the arts scene in LA,” Ortega explained. “Then we saw that early wave of gentrification flow into the community, as developments changed the face of the community, taking it in a new direction.” At that time and to this day, the mural serves as a means of reclaiming space.

Painting murals for this purpose is a long-held practice within the Latino community, as mural painting has been a popular form of Latino art since the 1920s. In Jade Puga and Richard Montes’ application for the mural’s historical landmark designation, they explained how Los Angeles’ earliest murals were often created by Mexican immigrants who used the walls of restaurants as their canvases. Many of these murals harkened back to the traditions and motifs of murals painted on Mexican pulquerías, or pulque bars, and they often featured scenes that depicted daily life or Mexican film stars. 

“During the Chicano movement of the 1960s and ’70s, the city’s Latino community became active in using art to reclaim their history and space, and after this period, Los Angeles became home to one of the largest concentrations of mural art in the country,” they wrote. In the 1990s, the Chicano movement saw a national resurgence, and with it the revival of politically motivated Chicano murals that responded to the racial and socioeconomic injustices of Latinos. These Chicano muralists boldly put their art in public spaces to engage their communities and incite social change. “A lot of us got involved during the civil unrest in LA in ‘92. I got involved in social action and activism around then,” Ortega shared.

The awesome power of public art to express and demand social change is writ large throughout the journey of this mural. From its original creation to the constant vigilance on display to maintain and restore it, the ferocity with which the Quetzalcoatl Mural Project stands guard for it speaks volumes. “We had to forge an alliance with the Mural Conservancy and the Highland Park Heritage Trust,” Ortega said on how they’ve gone about protecting the mural. “Because of the height of gentrification alone, we knew that public art would be on the fringe. How do we reclaim these public spaces? The Highland Park Heritage Trust was only dealing with landmarking old houses. We knew that, in theory, if they were able to protect houses, why couldn’t it be done under the idea of a mural? That’s how we began pushing for preservation.” 

Defending “Mexico-Tenochtitlan: The Wall that Talks” has become a communal affair. The Quetzalcoatl Mural Project has partnered with Avenue 50 Studio, an organization based in Highland Park that’s “grounded in Latina/o culture, visual arts, and the Northeast Los Angeles area that seeks to bridge cultures through artistic expressions, using content-driven art to educate and to stimulate intercultural understanding.” Ortega and his team also engage local community members to work on the mural, like students from the neighborhood high schools and the nearby ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena. “Without the participatory process of having members of our own community contribute, this mural would never have manifested to where it is today,” he told me. “It exists on the shoulders of the people. We were the backbone, but our love and support comes from the community.”

While it’s rare for a mural in a public space to receive official Historical-Cultural Monument designation, Ortega is hopeful that this achievement will help set a precedent for other public art pieces in Los Angeles to garner the same appreciation and protections. “I would love to see more LA-based murals that have been here a long time, for the past 50 years, become historic landmarks. Our mission at the Mural Project is building a better community through the eyes of an artist.”  

Dedicated to Daniel Robles, the Chicano Movement, UFW leader Cesar E. Chavez, Gabriel “Angel” Miranda, and Rev. Rene Ledesma.

Original contributing artists: Andy Ledesma (Quetzalcoatl Mural Project co-founder), Anthony “Eagle” Ortega (Quetzalcoatl Mural Project co-founder), Dominic Ochoa, Isabel Martinez, Jaime Ochoa, Jerry Ortega, Jesse Silva, John “Zender” Estrada, Oscar Deleon, and Rafael Corona.

Last month, to the horror of many of her constituents, Sandra Cuevas, the now-deposed borough president of Cuauhtémoc, Mexico City, ordered her district’s street food stand owners to cover up or remove about 1,500 colorful hand-painted advertisements and replace them with her administration’s logo. She called it an effort to improve the urban environment.

The signs, known as rótulos are joyful. They are often tongue-in-cheek. Sometimes they are crude but mostly they are painted with precise techniques passed down master-to-apprentice through generations.

The highly-guarded methods combine know-how from muralism, typography, calligraphy, and color theory. Many are the result of scarcity and ingenuity. They include tricks like mixing car paint and white gas to get paint that glides smoothly or cutting paint brushes into specific shapes for certain types of lettering. Before graphic design services were widely accessible, business owners with few resources would go to rotulistas for a visual identity. They are ubiquitous in Mexico, a staple of the urban fabric, part of what earns Mexico its reputation for being so colorful.

It is fairly inexplicable that anyone would want to get rid of rótulos. But Hernan Cortés did not conquer Tenochtitlan alone and Sandra Cuevas did not decide to destroy the rótulos out of nowhere. Cortés’ right-hand woman––his enslaved, trilingual, indigenous translator––was known as La Malinche and her legacy has everything to do with the destruction of the iconic advertisements.

The erasure of rótulos can be found at the intersection of fascism, racism, and classism. People on social media have been lobbing these charges at Cuevas for weeks. She has basically responded, “no I’m not.” Either way, she is neither the beginning nor the end of the existential threat facing rótulos.

 “This is a question of cultural identity,” says Dayron Lopez, a designer, muralist and longtime scholar of Mexico’s identidad grafica popular. “The field of design can help us understand this well. We create visual languages as identities.” So the erasure of a visual language is the erasure of an identity. And when the government forcibly erases a culture’s identity… we call that… fascism.

And if we needed proof that Sandra Cuevas is a fascist…a City court decided this month to depose her for multiple counts of corruption and abuse of power, a surprise because you have to behave REALLY badly in Mexican politics to face any consequences. In one complaint, two policemen accused Cuevas of bringing them into her office, stealing their phones and radios, pushing and slapping them, calling them homophobic slurs, and then holding them hostage in her building where she had a group of men beat them for insubordination. She has so far refused to step down, first saying that she hadn’t been notified of the court’s decision and later that they’ll have to kill her to get her out of office. As justification for her white-paint campaign, she said it was an important measure toward “order and discipline.”

But it takes looking beyond Sandra Cuevas’ fascist tendencies to understand why the rótulos are gone.

While rótulos come from popular (as opposed to elite) culture in Mexico, the cultural elite loves rótulos. Within days of the destruction of the signage, art historians, muralists, journalists, comedians, designers, and others formed a group called Re.Chida (Red Chilanga en Defensa del Arte y la Gráfica Popular or “The Chilanga Network in Defense of Art and Popular Graphics”*) to fight the Cuevas administration on the issue. A media storm ensued. So many people in the creative sphere were posting about rótulos that there were memes about how many people were posting about rótulos. Many privileged people in and outside of the organization called for the protection and respect of arte popular and identidad cultural.

Critics have tweeted that hipsters fetishize the rótulos and that the activists rallying behind them are merely concerned with the kitschy aesthetic of their neighborhoods. There certainly is a lot of Instagramming going on––but plenty of activism that seems genuinely rooted in a deep love for rótulos and a desire to protect Mexican culture, too.

Still, the charismatic megafauna (i.e. save the pandas while the whole ecosystem is collapsing around them) phenomenon is at play here. While Mexico’s middle class and lower classes are experiencing rapidly accelerating precarity in all areas of life, why rally behind rótulos? (I was losing my shit about the rótulos on Instagram for weeks. I also direct this question at myself.)

I cannot speak for the people who produce and consume the most rótulos––la gente popular. There is no public opinion data about rótulos. I did not conduct a survey for this essay. But I can say from almost a decade of reporting and market research that in Mexico, the middle class more often grasps at a global culture than a Mexican one.

There’s a name for this in Mexico: malinchismo––named for the aforementioned La Malinche’s betrayal of her people to help the Spanish conquer Mexico. It means a rejection of what is Mexican and a preference for what is foreign. The legacy of colonization, of economic and cultural imperialism is white supremacy.

Malinchismo is why so many middle class Mexicans hate cumbia music and why there’s a discount department store here called Suburbia. It is why you’ll find Starbucks locations in places where most people live in self-constructed homes. It’s why my first roommate in Mexico asked me not to display Mexican crafts in the house.

And almost certainly, it is why rótulos are undesirable to Cuevas: they are too Mexican. Rótulos have been disappearing for a long time and while it’s in part because printed plastic signs are cheaper, that’s not the only reason. Sandra Cuevas is not an anomaly. She pointed this out herself in a press conference, showing images of government-destroyed rótulos in another borough and asking “Where were the classism charges then?” The difference was that the cultural elite lives in Cuauhtémoc. You usually need a lot of cultural capital to exist outside of and reject malinchismo or to have a working discourse of arte popular and identidad cultural.

In response to criticism that she destroyed arte popular, Cuevas has insisted that the rótulos are “not art… definitely not art.” Mexico’s tendency to look down on its own traditions is classist. But it is also classist to look down on people for their malinchismo. It’s a wound nobody should be blamed for having. Not even the very detestable and majorly creepy Sandra Cuevas. Cuevas is indefensible but she did not invent her politics.

The real threat to rótulos is the enormous gulf between those with cultural capital in Mexico and those without it. It would be nice to think that if Cuevas goes down, the rótulos will be saved. In reality, people who want to preserve rótulos are up against the entire legacy of colonialism. Mexico’s lower and middle classes outnumber its cultural elite by a lot. Mexican cultural identity won’t be safe until white supremacy and malinchismo are in check.

All over the world, cheap street markets sell the exact same clothes. Global capitalism ravages local identity everywhere. The more generous reading of the story of La Malinche is that she was a genius political strategist who was working to free herself and her people from the violent rule of the Aztecs. In the fog of war, it’s easy to misidentify the enemy. In the fight to save the rótulos in Mexico and local graphic identities globally, I hope we don’t make the same mistake.

*I worked with this group peripherally for a short time, but what I’ve expressed here does not represent their views.

The initiative was organized by street artist/The LISA Project NYC’s Reynaldo Rosa (who added the border to Wilson’s work) for Make-A-Wish Foundation and Macy’s Queen’s Center Mall. Macy’s donates $1 to Make-A-Wish for every letter children write to Santa here.

He lives in a poor Mexico City neighborhood, has been robbed by cops and beaten up by other graffiti writers. He has no formal art training or artists in his family. But behold his ideas and style. You’ll be awed by his virtuosity.

DYES’ work is an energetic mashup of contemporary alphabetic forms. He is not attempting to ape anyone else, and as his brief answers to my questions (translated from Spanish) indicate, he simply enjoys the talent he has and is driven to express it in a grand manner. 

(Photos: DYES)

You work as a teacher in Mexico—how much of your life is devoted to art?
I work teaching children from 3–6 years old. When I leave work I try to give as much time as possible to art and graffiti.

You do not have design training, so where do these decidedly designed typographic references come from?
I think the inspiration comes from the desire to do a better and better job.

Despite the chaos of the above photo, your work is very disciplined: tightly planned, highly precise. How did your approach evolve?
At first it arose from a rebellious ideology. I only did it illegally, and over time tried to do more complex jobs. I think I found a challenge in it.

Your work appears to me as going contrary to the conventions of graffiti, at least what I am used to seeing in the United States. Would you agree?
On the contrary, I follow the idea that inspiration is everywhere and that the game consists of creating a scenario in which many elements coexist with each other. It’s fun to play with letters and elements to decorate a space.

Your tag is DYES. Is that your actual name, or an invention?
DYES is an invention that evolved over time. At first I used a different name, and after several puns ended up as DYES.

Do you sketch out your compositions prior to the final act of tagging?
When I paint illegally it is usually a piece that I master to do it as quickly as possible, but when it is a legal job I try to plan, even if on-the-fly arrangements are always made. I always draw things [on paper] before doing it on the wall; it’s like practicing it on a smaller scale. Although even the “final” work still seems like a sketch to me—there is always that feeling of wanting to do it again.

How is your work received by fellow artists? By the public? By the cultural authorities?
The artists’ media, my colleagues and public conceive my graffiti as illegal since it is what I have done most. Of the authorities, I prefer not to give my opinion, but I don’t think they love me. I like to think that I am a kind of graphic or image composer; I do several things like graffiti, illustration, tattooing, but what I like most is painting on walls either with spray or any type of paint.

Do you have a plan for the future?
I like to think that something on the street can be considered art. In the future I would like to make large-format murals and show pieces in galleries too.

Each artist's style is seen in the campaign, from Cey Adams's 60s pop-art fused graphics to Dianne Smith's minimalistic yet abstract art; there's no lack of creativity in this campaign.

Bombay Sapphire, the world’s leading premium gin brand by volume and valule, has collaborated with Harlem-based graffiti and contemporary artists Cey Adams and Dianne Smith on a new billboard campaign launching in mid-August in Harlem for its new berry-infused Bombay Bramble gin.

As the Launch Curator for the new Bombay Bramble, Red Rooster chef Marcus Samuelsson, another iconic Harlem figure, handpicked Cey and Dianne for this billllboard takeover, replacing staid advertising with works of art that reflects the local Harlem community and its rich arts heritage following the 100th anniversary of the Harlem Renaissance in 2020. Marcus has long supported Black artists in his flagship Red Rooster restaurant in Harlem that doubles as a ‘gallery’ (now replicated at 36 restaurants worldwide). Marcus once again wanted to give Black artists a platform to show their talents for the latest Bombay Sapphire campaign in his beloved neighborhood.

The artworks will be installed in two prime locations in Harlem on August 16 through mid-September and feature Cey’s and Dianne’s signature artistic styles respectively, inspired by summer, the colors and textures of Harlem and community’s artistic revival post-pandemic, and the new gin’s berries. Cey Adams is a NY Native and 60s pop-art meets graphic artist king, who’s worked with the likes of art heavyhitters Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Dianne Smith is a minimal abstract artist focused on expressing different cultures through her lexicon.

Project Credits

Cey Adams and Dianne Smith

Commissioned by the Netherlands Embassy this past July, The Garden Of Delight was a public exhibit that placed floral posters throughout Budapest. Each stop featured different posters that showcased distinctive flowers and their respective colors. While commuting can be stressful, this exhibition undoubtedly helped ease wary travelers' nerves.

The Garden of Delight is an exhibition in public space commissioned by the Netherlands Embassy in Budapest. Throughout July, 25 Citylight posters will present the work of Dutch artists, photographers and designers at 25 tram stops (tram lines 47-49) in the centre of Budapest. Each of them has their own particular fascination with flowers. Being displayed at tram stops, the exhibition can also also be viewed in its entirety on a dedicated website.

Project Credits

De_Form Studio | @de_form

Opening today at the Richard Taittinger Gallery in New York City is artist and designer Timothy Goodman’s first solo exhibition, titled Too Young To Not Set My Life On Fire. Featuring 40-plus canvases of original works, viewers will find pieces that explore vulnerability and masculinity, as well as a celebration of the city he now calls home. The Taittinger Gallery will also become Goodman’s exclusive rep in the US.

Looking to create an immersive experience for attendees, he wants audiences to contend with their own experiences of joy and vulnerability while it also serves as an account of his own shortcomings and personal growth. In addition to the works on display from Goodman, there will also be three limited-edition prints on sale, as well as plenty of merch, including socks, hats, and obviously, fanny packs. Supposedly, the opening will also have free beer and ice cream, but we’re nowhere near the city, so the FOMO is real.

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Born in Cleveland, the NYC-based Goodman is well-known for the many murals he has produced over the years, in addition to his partnerships with Netflix, MoMA, The New York Times, and the Kevin Durant Foundation. “Having a solo show was a dream of mine when I moved to NYC 16 years ago for design school,” mentioned Goodman in an Instag
ram post announcing the show.

The show opens this evening and will run until September 12th.

Topps is having a pretty, pretty, pretty good 2021 so far. It was recently announced that, in the first quarter of the year, sales went up by 55%, a clear indication that their wares are a veritable collector’s thirst trap, with the junk wax maven hawking NFTs and a specially-curated line dubbed Project70, where 51 artists and designers created limited-edition cards.

One of those artists, Eric Friedensohn, aka, Efdot, took his initial Topps offering a step further with his Iconic Stadium Series, a series of cards celebrating some of MLB’s most beloved and iconic venues. What’s more, during the design process, he even created a few unique paintings of the stadiums (most of which sold out on the visual artist’s site).

Initially, the collaboration began with Project70, with five cards getting released in December of 2020. The partnership with Topps helped push his illustration work into new avenues and styles, particularly with the sports card crowd.

“Halfway through the project, it was starting to hit me how much of an impact the Pandemic had on this community of sports fans and collectors who no longer had live games to look forward to,” Efdot says. “I haven't been to a baseball game in quite a few years, but I reflected on my childhood memories at Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium and made a series of drawings about it, originally just for fun.”

The idea was to create a series of cards that captured the energy and excitement of taking in a ball game (though why he chose to ignore the Philadelphia toilet bowl-friendly Veteran’s Stadium of 1971-2003 feels like a betrayal to this writer’s heart, but to each his own). Dubbed the Iconic Stadium Series, his latest collaboration with Topps comes loaded with nostalgic touches emblematic of the team and city—think 70s uniform baby blues and Stan Musial’s number on the Sportsman’s Park card or the Camden Yards shout-out to Pickles Pub and Boog’s BBQ.

Other cards in the series include Ebbets Field, Shea Stadium, Forbes Field, Fenway Park, Wrigley, and the OG house that Ruth built, featuring many nostalgic touches, all done in Efdot’s colorfully vibrant and playful style.

“When Topps reached out about working with them, I was excited to dive back into the world of collectibles, using all my new experience as an artist,” Efdot says. “Throughout the project, I have been able to add so many nostalgic elements onto the cards. I still have all that source material in my memory—the team logos, the uniforms, patches, pins, the close games, the losses, and victories. It's impossible to forget the smells, tastes, and sounds of a live baseball game.”

The paintings take on a few personal anecdotes, drawing heavily from his childhood in New York, as is the case with the Shea Stadium piece, enveloping the former Flushing ballpark in a massive apple. For the Mr. November piece, he draws on beloved Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter’s legacy as the first player to bat and hit a World Series home run in November, as he stepped to plate just a tick after midnight on Halloween. You can also see one of Efdot’s trademark blobs skateboarding along the bottom of the painting.

“Before 2020, my career had nothing to do with sports art,’ Efdot admits. “Baseball was so important to me as a kid. I played little league for most of my childhood and learned the ropes from my dad—a lifelong Yankees fan. We would often go to Yankee games together with my mom and brother. My brother and I collected cards and even would trade and sell them to other kids on the playground.”

It’s doubtful that Efdot will be hitting the playground anytime soon to sell his most recent creations from Topps, but you can still snag a few cards and paintings from his website. And if you can convince him to apply some paint to a canvas that happens to be in the shape of the Vet, be a mensch and let me know.

The artwork is a part of the 'Our neighbor art museum project' initiated by the Jungnang-gu district office. Grey concrete wall turned to a great canvas containing people living in Jungnang district and their story of life. 'Our neighbor art museum' project aims to transform places in the neighborhood into artistic spaces creating cultural vibes of daily life. Three artists participated and I used a childhood concept as the space was in front of an elementary school.

Project Credits

Client: Jungnang-gu Office

Agency: AXOO

Artists: Kim Daye / Min kyung / Seamoon

Photos: Sihoon Kim

Video: Baek Sujin

Known for his ceramic tile mosaics designed based on pixelated art from the 80s, Invader is a French artist who's been taking over the urban scene for quite some time. He first began working in the late 1990s when he would cover the streets of Paris with Space Invaders from the 1978 Atari game.

From there, he became well known for his 8-bit characters, seen in the outstanding placement on the "D" of the Hollywood sign to all around the streets of Paris in "open-exhibit-to-all" fashion.

The International Centre of Graphic Arts – MGLC Ljubljana, the world's oldest existing biennial exhibition of contemporary graphic arts, is currently hosting a solo exhibition of Invader's work called "Prints on Paper." The show has been available to the public since December 22, 2020, and will only remain open until August 15, 2021. The exhibit features more than 100 prints from the artist, from pixelated Pac-man ghosts to highly detailed pixel portraits to plants created in the same tile style.

In other exciting news, Invader also self-published Catalogue Raisonne 2001-2020 in conjunction with the exhibit that initially sold out within a few hours but has recently been reprinted. While finding Invader's work throughout the streets of New York or Paris sounds thrilling, sometimes it's nice to be able to appreciate an artist's work up close and all together.

It’s rare to see murals getting made, and you often don’t know the artist behind them, and they’re so massive it’s difficult to wrap your mind around how much paint it actually takes to complete just one masterpiece (it’s a lot of paint).

Today we’ve rounded up five mural artists you should follow on Instagram. Each one brings a unique aspect of the form to the table, but they all have one thing in common: walls are their canvases.

BONGANG | @bongangart

Kevin Bongang is the man behind @bongangart/ Kevin was born in Cameroon, West Africa, and raised in Savannah, Georgia. The bright color stories, whirling shapes, and playfulness behind his murals come from his Illustration major from Savannah College of Art and Design. Throughout his Instagram feed, you’ll find works from collaborations with multiple nationally recognized brands such as Heineken, Shake Shack, and Mountain Dew. There’s a lot of passion behind his art, and it shines through in the vivid murals.

Ant Carver | @antcarver

Have you ever sat down and tried to draw an eyeball on a piece of paper? Just a single eye with all its details: pupil, eyelashes, water line, etc. It isn’t easy. Now, imagine drawing an entire portrait on an enormous wall. The magnitude of an undertaking like that seems untouchable to people like me. Ant Carver’s murals are intricate, detailed, emotional portraits affixed on massive walls. Now, if I could only see his works in the wild—I’d be captivated.

Lettering Mural Artist | @lisa_quine

Currently residing in Cleveland, Lisa Quine is a creative consultant who’s worked for clients such as Mercedes-Benz, Louis Vuitton, and Target. She was recently chosen as one of Cleveland Magazine’s “Most Interesting People for 2020,” and her works feature robust typographic designs and color combinations filled with depth and soul. Think light pinks paired with rich and dark blues and deep reds paired with rusty orange shades. Her Instagram bio reads “What can I make next?” so you know that the inspiration is constantly flowing within this talented artist.

Will Rea | @willustration_

What do you get when you have a guy named Will, who’s also an illustrator? A Willistrator.

Will graduated from Sheffield Hallam University with a degree in Illustration. Since then, he’s set up a freelance business in South Yorkshire where he creates public artwork and painting signage on indoor and outdoor canvases. His Instagram features his murals along with other artworks. I’d say his style sits at the intersection of classical work and contemporary thinking; think Darwin’s drawings of geological elements, mixed with Wes Anderson style color palettes, combined with a modern twist. His Instagram feed will undoubtedly make you want to find your nearest wall and show off.

ＭＡＲＩＥＬＬ| @mariellguzman

If you need to add a splash of life and color to your daily Instagram scroll, look no further. Mariell Guzman is a mixed media painter, muralist, illustrator, and installation artist. Born in Mexico, she’s currently based in Texas, creating work for Corona, Pepsi, and IBM, and she has a knack for adding vividness to unexpected places. One of my favorite murals is her masterpiece for the IBM offices; it’s abstract, vivacious, and full of inspiration.

The campaign is live on billboards in Times Square and Big Belly trash bins throughout the city. Zhu implemented OH no Type Co.'s type "Obviously" that makes an impact on solid black, red, and yellow backdrops. Hate has no place here or anywhere, and these PSAs are bold and powerful through their message and their designs.

Project Credits

Artist & Graphic Designer Zipeng Zhu

When we (Wunder Werkz) were approached for Night Lights, the challenge was to create an identity that was designed to fit on the unique aspect ratio of the notable Daniels & Fisher Tower in downtown Denver, but with enough flexibility that it could be used at multiple other Denver buildings in the future. The identity needed to be dynamic enough to catch the eye of the passing public and broad enough to support a varied and constantly changing group of visual artists.

We began with a geometric, flexible type that could fit to a wide variety of aspect ratios and would lend itself to various motion treatments. The Daniels & Fisher Tower is a unique form, 20 stories with a tall and narrow form. It was our imperative to get the desired information, interstitials, branding and credits onto this unique shape and make sure that the system would work on future building forms. Once we identified our major touch-points, we set to work on the typographic systems. The font has 16 different weights with each letterform fitting within a specific rectilinear grid, the angular and rectilinear forms fit easily within varied building facades and the lines work well with diverse architectural features.

We also worked with a graduated color palette that could make small changes in tone and color build as the day, season and lighting changed. The focus was on bright, eye-catching colors that transverse the warm and cold spectrum and would give the project a wide variety of color options with high contrast on various colored building facades, and throughout seasonal color changes. Cool colors for the warm Colorado sunset, warm colors for the Colorado winters and dynamic shift change to stand out from the chaotic advertising of downtown.

From there, we brought the whole identity to life with a system of eye-catching motion graphics for interstitials, brand and artist introductions. The variable weight font was used to create kinetic typography with weight and fluid shifts that are an eye-catching break from the visual clutter in the downtown area. The system was not only used on the tower but also motion bus ads, theater marquis and internet marketing – all utilizing dynamic movement to bring the brand to life.

Why is this project notable

Night Lights is nothing if not unique – it democratizes access to motion art, activates a public forum in a diverse way and brings together technology and architecture to create a unique art experience, nightly. The design challenges were also unique – create a system that would work across multiple dimensions, multiple facades, within a changing environment and still stand-apart from the chaos of a downtown area.

We allowed architecture and technology to inform and develop typography and brand systems in a way that is dynamic, broad and preeminent. Night Lights is able to express itself in multiple forms, while still maintaining a uniquely recognizable identity. The letter forms are readable from varied angles and can be excited to create movement in a number of different ways and the color system can be varied for seasonal and environmental effects.

Overall, the project was designed to be fun, recognizable and create a platform for the people of Denver to interact with art and design in a new and diverse way while giving artists a public forum to present unique motion work.

Designed by Wonder Werkz

Every 70 hours, Topps issues a new trio of cards, each featuring a different player and a guest designer, until all cards in the set are released. Gold frame, artist proof, and rainbow foil variants of each card are also randomly inserted in every card’s run.

With 51 invited designers, the styles of cards are varied. Some, such as Jackie Robinson’s card, stays truer to form, while others like Gregory Siff’s Darryl Strawberry draws inspiration from various art forms, such as abstract, pop, and street art.

Some of the cards released so far include Sean Wotherspoon’s Roberto Clemente, Brittany Palmer’s Robert Rodriguez, New York Nico’s Derek Jeter, Fucci's Mike Trout, and Snoop Dogg’s Ronald Acuña Jr. Future cards feature guests Chinatown Market, Ron English, Action Bronson, and Mister Cartoon.

If you are Adrian Wilson (ironically known as @plannedalism), you plan a clandestine outing to the Franklin Street subway stop in New York City. You walk down the stairs and survey the surroundings for interruptions.

You notice the stairs are free of unnecessarily clever urban advertising—you wouldn’t want to deface anything, would you?

Then you notice the beautiful, doubtless recently renovated Franklin St. mosaic tile sign. A light goes off in your resourceful mind and you rush back to your studio …

… Where you find sticky-backed sheets of yellow vinyl, some adhesive gothic letters, a ruler, X-Acto and Sharpie. You begin to put the pieces of your plan together …

… Return to the staging area, and surreptitiously, yet with care, position your first sign of admiration for the departed diva. Then wait …

Restless, you find another venue for another expression of remorseful gratitude, and affix further offerings of R-E-S-P-E-C-T …

Then you are done for the night. Right? Maybe!

The other day I asked Wilson whether it was as easy as that. His response: “As you can see, if it is complex, like the Aretha Franklin piece, where I had to measure all the tiles and stair riser heights, I have to go to the station first and measure things up; plus check on security cameras.” He uses paper currency for determining spacial relationships. “Dollar bills make good standard measure tapes.”

Wilson offered to work with the MTA to produce “fun tributes” in different stations but they passed—even though they made the “RESPECT” tribute permanent. “I also offered to do a line of merchandise for free that they could sell to raise much-needed funds, but they passed on that too, as it is hard for them to condone what technically is vandalism.”

Wilson insists that doing this @plannedalism work ain’t easy (as if we couldn’t have guessed). “The first subway piece I did was Prince Street,” he confides, “which was done as a photo print, and I messed up the sign; however, nobody complained, and the fact it was the wrong size made it stand out more. Things shouldn’t look exact, but I didn’t want them too different, and my skills and experience have improved a lot. A fan even sent me the MTA Graphic Standards Manual as a gift!”

To celebrate the election of President Biden (46) over No. 45, Wilson sent me the above: “Thought you might like to see how much effort goes into the big mosaic pieces,” he wrote in an email. All are hand-done—the ’46th Joe’ took me about three hours, and at the end I shoot the artwork and mock it up to see if it will fit. They are made so the mosaic bleeds larger, and then I cut it down exactly once I am at the station. I made the ‘Joe’ [sentence case] instead of capitalized on purpose because it seemed more friendly after four years of Trump’s tweets!”

“The sign stayed up maybe an hour because it went viral,” he notes, “until a couple of cops went down and removed it.” Wilson was happy, though, to do a tribute to a living person, “rather than it always being a tribute to someone who passed.

“The best thing about this is that it has inspired others to do their own tributes. Someone sent me an ‘Aretha FranklinStrasse’ sign from Germany and another artist did a ‘Kobe Bryant Park’ white marker tribute when he sadly died.”

Wilson is not just a denizen of the underground. He works overground every chance he finds, often at night for obvious reasons.

And speaking of timely tributes, on the dark day of David Bowie’s passing, Wilson took a dangerous leap in order to create the “David Bowery” sign in the middle of Houston and Bowery streets during the height of a raging snowstorm. Chilling!

He also often works in the broad daylight for reasons I still cannot fathom.

All of this will lead you, dear reader, to wonder: What is the life expectancy of such signs? “Lots of factors affect it,” Wilson enumerates. “If it is a busy station, if they are easily reached, who they are related to, how subtle it is, how quickly it takes off online and if it is seen as bothering passengers. … I did a Bowie makeover to the entrance of Broadway Lafayette and someone tipped off the @mta on Twitter and they replied, “It is a great tribute and we know nothing about,” and allowed it to stay there a week. The Thompson Street sign alteration [as seen a few images above] is still running after 10 days.” Still, even if it lasts two minutes, it doesn’t matter, but ideally, “you want the public to see and post their own photos so it is obvious it isn’t fake, though people don’t really care if it is real or not if it is a good idea. I have done so many, people assume they are real anyway, plus I tell people that Woody from Toy Story is just a digital file and nobody complains about that. It is fun art, not fake news trickery.”

Recently, Wilson adhered the above subway door sign, which, he assumes, will probably remain in place for quite a while because it is a very subtle change.

Nonetheless, when asked the perfunctory “what is next?”: “I considered doing, like, 10 station changes this April Fool’s Day, but I am pushing my luck already,” he answers with a sly grin.

Predictably, Wilson can’t help himself. This new piece arrived just after this DH post was published. He just couldn’t resist the perfect visual/textural pun . . .

To mark the first anniversary of Kobe’s passing, here is a selection of some of the best murals honoring the 18-time All-Star from around Los Angeles and around the world.

Nur Sultan, Kazakhstan. Artist: swed_717 Photo: Togzhan Kassenova

Madrid, Spain Artist: David Barrera

Taipei, Taiwan. Artist: Fleksone

Milhouse, France. Artist: Poti

Rome, Italy. Artist: piskv

Indore, India. Artist: Stanlee_Graffiti

Costa Mesa, California. Artist: Tyke

Pembroke Park, Florida. Artist: Yost Studio

Boyle Heights, Los Angeles. Artist: @downtowndaniel

Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles. Artist: JC Ro

Fairfax, Los Angeles. Artist: Levi Ponce

Arts District, Los Angeles. Artist: Royyal Dog

RIP Gigi, Mamba

Over the course of nearly 200 pages, readers dive into 34 years of visual activism spearheaded by the anonymous and oh-so-clever Guerrilla Girls. These masked avengers began their crusade in New York City in 1985, and have since welcomed over 55 members to fight to “expose gender and ethnic bias as well as corruption in politics, art, film and pop culture.”

What started with neutral backgrounds and bold black lettering has turned into a signature design style full of in-your-face imagery and plenty of well-researched facts to shock you into action. Guerrilla Girls: The Art of Behaving Badly is the first book to document the fearsome feminists’ long and provocative legacy—all the way up through the 2019 campaign that called out museums with financial ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

The visuals speak for themselves, but the Guerrilla Girls have added text throughout the book to help contextualize each project. Moreover, “More than a monograph, Guerrilla Girls: The Art of Behaving Badly is a call to arms—each copy comes with a punch-out gorilla mask that invites readers to step up and join the movement themselves.”

Won’t you don one?

Below he talks to me about his recent work in this socio-political mural tradition, and where he is going to next take the medium.

When did you begin doing the murals?

I started the first mural at the end of June, on the plywood barricade at the Whitney museum.

For what purpose do you do them?

The murals are meant to support multi-ethnic democracy and peaceful protest, and to condemn abuse of power and political violence of any kind. Most New Yorkers already agree with these ideas, so the murals are mostly an act of solidarity, but also a way to open conversations with people who don't agree.

The original motivation was an outlet to mitigate my own sense of helplessness.

How do you feel these—and murals in general—impact viewers?Painting can make an awful scene compelling—the right aesthetic allows us to look longer … maybe consider ugly issues with more attention. Public murals confront you when you're going about your day. This might allow people to make different connections than if they were in a museum. I hope that viewers who don't share my politics are taken by the work I've done, and ask questions. This has been my experience. I've had many political discussions and disagreements while painting these outside. The interactive and performative element of the work is satisfying.

Where do you show them?

They are shown where they are painted. So far: outside the Whitney, outside the Museum of Sex, Union Square, Horatio Street, and Gansevoort Street in Chelsea. I'd love the opportunity to show them with an institution or gallery.

There is a Guernica quality to them—perhaps it's the grey and white. Is this purposeful?

The Guernica association is because of the greyscale, the contrast, the movement and the chaotic imagery, and maybe because the figures are stylized, though not abstracted. I have actually been thinking about Rivera, Orozco and Rubens (the Mexican Muralist show was the last show I saw at the Whitney, and [was] still up inside the museum while I painted the outside. I'm flattered by the comparison to Guernica.

What has the response been?

Most people say they're beautiful, which surprised me. People who stop are often interested in discussing politics, from all parts of the political spectrum. I really welcome those conversations. I think the visible labor of the mural establishes my sincerity. That, as well as the lack of words, makes them harder to dismiss.

What projects do you have in the making?

I've started a mural on 12th Street and 2nd Avenue, though as I say this it may be taken down or painted over. I'm trying to find a home for the 12' x 27' mural on Gansevoort Street. … I'm also quietly working on a series of drawings I hope to publish in a book.

There is no law that says the plywood must remain up, but many retailers still fear property damage. So, in the meantime, at the very least, why not plaster the temporary coverings with great posters. New York City penal law 145.30 restricts bill posting as unlawful and the Dept. of Sanitation has done its best to enforce codes against littering streets with unwanted and unpaid wheat-pasted posters but, in truth, these placards might bring a life force back to our town. New York is, after all, an advertising metropolis.

Empty plywood cries out for posters and posters add life to the cityscape. Why not let New York artists and designers have the freedom to fill them? Provide temporary permits if that'll help. Eventually the plywood will be removed, right?

I think of it as when my parents allowed me to draw with crayons on the apartment walls before they were painted. It was temporary but, man, was it fun.

So, just for the duration of the shutdown(s), suspend New York City penal law 145.30 that specifies posting an advertisement on another person’s property without their permission is illegal. Lift whatever other legal obstacles exist. How about a hiatus allowing artists and designers to make great graphics for a week, a month or however long it takes until all the shops remove their plywood masks.

Of course, I am not alone in my sadness. Take the formerly (just outed by Gothamist) anonymous street artist and guerrilla designer Adrian Wilson (@plannedalism). His tribute to RBG may not still be up in the morning yet as the lifespan of monuments is decreasing in the United States, his act of civil disobedience must be applauded and savored. May it remain for a long while. Justice Ginsburg you are missed now and forever.

Not only is this act considered vandalism of public property and subject to fines and arrest, it requires skill and forethought that only our collective respect for RBG could trigger so speedily and with such expert handling.

plannedalism found the perfect location, and changed the subway mosaic from "50th St." to "Ruth St." Within 24 hours of the announcement of her passing, the sign was up.

Although I never met her, I had somewhere around 12 degrees of separation with RBG. My first cousin, Gillian E. Metzger, a law professor and faculty co-director of the Center for Constitutional Governance at Columbia Law School, of whom I am very proud, was one of Ginsburg's Supreme Court clerks, a rather important appointment in American jurisprudence circles. She and a legal colleague wrote their remembrance of Justice Ginsburg in yesterday's New York Times. I urge you to read it here.

Starting in July, The Huddersfield BID’s “Tart up the Town” project hired Robert “Umberto” Walker, a popular, local street artist/sign painter who specializes with lettering, to lend his paint and brush to six locations (the first “Pride” is shown here). “The street art will make the town look more vibrant and attractive and will have positive words to remind passers to keep positive and feel proud of the town,” says the BID’s manager and spokesperson, Matthew Chapman. “Street Art is not vandalism—it is an expression, turning urbanized towns into a vibrant location in which locals feel energized and have a sense of identity.”

Street art, in other words, is “the new culture!” Many street artists have become global inspirations, increasing foot traffic wherever they do their artwork, Chapman asserts.

“My inspiration comes from the high street’s heyday,” says Umberto, “the grand shop fronts that would display the goods for sale; the hand-painted shop sign and windows and the large-scale gable end being utilized to allow type to pop. To have a wall that can be marked with craft to aid positivity is a powerful and wonderful outcome that I’m delighted to be part of.”

Coincidentally, Umberto’s lettering models derived from the book Shadow Type (Thames and Hudson, 2013) by Steven Heller (me) and Louise Fili. Quite an honor for us, Huddersfield!

His (her? their?) latest piece, dubbed “London” on the artist’s YouTube channel and captioned “If You Don’t Mask, You Don’t Get” on Instagram, is a solid reminder of the perpetual sense of play in his output, the wit that can be found within it, and how his satirical takes can lighten dark times and dark subjects.

The video is also a brief glimpse into his process, from donning a costume to escape attention on the London Underground to his stencil work and subsequent detailing.

The final product: A wonderland of COVID rats donning masks, using them as parachutes, offering hand sanitizer, and more, complemented by the artist’s tag (in the colors of a face mask)—a relatively rare focal point in his work these days.

And then there’s the final element that ends the video—which is worth the watch alone.

In a turn of fate that the artist(s) likely savored, the whole piece was scrubbed clean before anyone ever knew about it.

Check out the piece below, as well as a couple of his other pandemic-related works. (We’d also be remiss if we didn’t add that quarantine is a great chance to revisit his enigmatic film Exit Through the Gift Shop, too.)

View this post on Instagram

. . My wife hates it when I work from home.

A post shared by Banksy (@banksy) on Apr 15, 2020 at 10:45am PDT

View this post on Instagram

. . Game Changer

A post shared by Banksy (@banksy) on May 6, 2020 at 9:50am PDT

]]> 813 https://www.printmag.com/daily-heller/new-doc-by-nicolas-heller-tonight-at-muddguts/ Thu, 18 Jul 2019 23:31:16 +0000 http://new-doc-by-nicolas-heller-tonight-at-muddguts Stefanie Boyce is an artist. “To Know Me Is To Love Me” is her joyful story of making art. A new film by Nicolas Heller. World Premiere on Friday night (tonight) 7/19 at Muddguts Art Store, Brooklyn, NY: Join the celebration.

About Steven Heller

Steven Heller is the co-chair of the SVA MFA Designer /Designer as Author + Entrepreneur program, writes frequently for Wired and Design Observer. He is also the author of over 170 books on design and visual culture. He received the 1999 AIGA Medal and is the 2011 recipient of the Smithsonian National Design Award.View all posts by Steven Heller →

]]> 3198 https://www.printmag.com/featured/52-billboards-in-all-50-states/ Tue, 30 Oct 2018 01:34:44 +0000 http://52-billboards-in-all-50-states The 50 State Initiative from For Freedoms

Last year, a series of Kickstarter projects kicked off with one goal, to use public advertising space to change the course of a political discussion in America. The non-profit organization For Freedoms launched 52 separate Kickstarter campaigns to put up 52 billboards in all 50 States, from D.C. to Puerto Rico. This public art project gave the billboard space to artists around the country, who wanted to have their say around politics in the country ahead of the midterm elections.

Artist Paula Crown’s work in Los Angeles, California. Courtesy Cultural Counsel

They met their crowdfunding goal (yay!) and the billboards—many which are without words—went up last week around the country. For Freedoms claims it’s the largest creative collaboration in American history. This billboard project, called the 50 State Initiative, launched a few weeks ago across the U.S. and over 300 artists are part of the project, including Fred Tomaselli’s I’ve Fallen and I Can’t Get Up billboard in Helena, Montana, Paula Crown’s Hurt People Hurt People showing in Los Angeles and Marilyn Minter’s piece that reads “Sad!” in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Artwork Wyatt Gallery in Olympia, Washington. Courtesy Culture Counsel

We spoke to the For Freedoms co-founder Eric Gottesman (who-co founded this project with Hank Willis Thomas) on creating visual puzzles, raising questions and how the public finds them through their logo.

You pulled it off, what has the response been like so far?

Eric Gottesman: The response has been very exciting. A lot of people are responding in ways we didn’t expect, Emily Jacir’s billboard that says “Translate Allah,” which is in Salem. People have been calling the billboard company and asking “what is this about?” People are taking notice, how to digest what they mean in the context of what’s happening today. Another example is Canadian artist Luis Jacob, who did a billboard in Vermont, featuring the names of Indigenous people who occupy that land. People in that community reached out and wanted to create a conversation with Luis. Different kinds of conversations are happening in the country based on these billboards and designs.

Artist Rashid Johnson’s work in Los Angeles, California. Courtesy Cultural Counsel

How do people find you?

Each billboard says its paid for by For Freedoms, they all have our logo. People look us up or call the billboard company to inquire what the billboard means. That’s a huge sign of success. But also, it’s part of larger 50 State Initiative, which includes town hall meetings, dialogues in art museums and exhibits to create a nationwide dialogue around these things, often the response is a question. What does this mean? What do you think it means? We don’t know. Help us figure out what this means together.

Artist Jeffrey Gibson’s work in Raleigh, North Carolina. Courtesy Cultural Counsel

How did you choose the artists?

We reached out to artists we were interested in and wanted to figure out the complex puzzle of how to feature artists in this project. What we are trying to do now is open the conversation to bring together many voices. We reached out to artists well known all the way to other end, young students or students, covering geographic diversity.

Four Freedoms in New Orleans, Louisiana. Courtesy Cultural Counsel

You’ve said that it’s not about taking sides of the political spectrum, what is your vision?

It’s no one specific thing, but we offered some guidelines; to be anti-partisan, to not take sides, to be open and ask questions, even if they don’t end in a question mark. Even if we don’t get the messages, we put them out. We are putting out the puzzles of artists in certain cities across the country. Some artists felt like a certain part of the country would make sense, others wanted to be as close to the Mexican border as possible, or a certain region, we tried to honor those requests.

Artist Kambui Olujimi’s work in Des Moines, Iowa. Courtesy Cultural Counsel

Was this timed with the midterm election?

It was conceived in a way to get artists and institutions engaged with civic participation. Also to expand what civic participation means. It’s not just voting, it’s about using our voices to speak up about the things we feel strongly about. We believe all art is political, so when artists get engaged, the conversation changes. Its important for artists voices not to be marginalized or only to be seen in these elite institutions, but more at the center of public life. I want to stress this is a part of the initiative with over 200 cultural institutions and 400 artists across the country, the billboards are iconic but there will be waves of things like talks and exhibitions. The billboards are up through the end of November.

Artist Hank Willis Thomas’s work in Syracuse, New York. Courtesy Cultural Counsel

With this billboard project, are you hoping to shift a change?

The shift and change we want is to add more nuance in the kind of conversation we have in public about the issues most important to us. By inserting artist voices into the landscape and into the public conversation, we hope to do that.

]]> 10788 https://www.printmag.com/comics-animation-design/comics-new-york-transit-museum/ Mon, 10 Sep 2018 17:36:47 +0000 http://comics-new-york-transit-museum By: Michael Dooley

Never mind that comics were exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum in 1951, then at the Whitney in 1983 and MOMA in 1990. That’s all so 20th century. Finally, comics have arrived at the city’s coolest venue of all: the New York Transit Museum in downtown Brooklyn!

Amelia Opdyke Jones: Quarantine the Gumbug!, 1948, and Keep Your Feet Off The Seat!, 1949. New York Transit Museum, William J. Jones Collection. Gift of William J. Jones and Margaritta J. Friday

In case you haven’t heard, the New York Transit Museum has been sharing with the public the abundant, lively history of urban public transportation for more than 40 years, through shows, guided tours, and educational programs. Its most spectacular permanent highlight would be the vintage subway cars dating back to 1907, now docked in a once-active station, where there’s room for everyone to climb aboard and let their minds travel back to the days of wicker seats, leather straps, overhead fans, and graffiti-free exteriors. The museum’s latest exhibit, Underground Heroes: New York Transit in the Comics provides a platform for an omnibus of cartoons, comic strips, comic books, graphic novels, editorial cartoons, and ads, all of which draw their themes from the city’s public conveyances. The art extends back to the 19th century’s Puck and Judge and includes works by around 120 talents ranging from Winsor McCay and George Herriman to Milt Caniff and Will Eisner to Marvel and DC superheroes to Mad’s Don Martin and The New Yorker’s Roz Chast to Peter Kuper and Mark Newgarden. There’s Stan Mack’s Real Life Funnies and Bill Griffith’s surreal life Zippy. And that barely scratches the Underground’s tiled surface.

photo by Filip Wolak, courtesy of the New York Transit Museum

To assemble Underground Heroes, NYTM associate curator Jodi Shapiro scrutinized hundreds of comics and reached out to a number of artists and comics enthusiasts. When I asked her about the genesis of the idea she replied that she was inspired by her everyday commute. “On one of my rides to work, I started thinking about how different artists would interpret the routine. Painters and photographers have certainly made a lot of work dealing with transportation in New York, as well as scores of writers. I started to wonder: has New York’s transit system been featured in comics? I wasn’t entirely sure.

“I did some preliminary research and found that not only does our transportation system appear in all sorts of comics, but it also developed alongside the comics industry. You could say that New York’s transit system and comic books grew up together. Mass media such as newspapers were gaining popularity just as the elevated lines were being built in the city in the mid-1800s. Since the New York Transit Museum’s mission is to tell the story about our vast transportation system, a show about how the comics told aspects of the story seemed a natural fit.”

Most everyone who’s seen the exhibition, which opened two months ago, seems to agree. Shapiro added, “Some of the most pleasantly surprising feedback has been from people who have decades of experience in the comics field telling me that they learned a few things from the show, and not just about subways and buses.”

To keep abreast of upcoming Underground Heroes gallery talks and panel discussions over the next several months, keep checking in at this link. The show will stay open until January 6th, but why wait? Go now. Just take the A train, to Hoyt-Schermerhorn.

Peter Kuper: excerpt from The System, 1995, 2014. courtesy of the artist

Mark Newgarden: Love’s Savage Fury. p.1, 1986. courtesy of the artist

Johnny Craig art: The Vault of Horror No. 30, 1950. Vault of Horror and the EC Logo are trademarks and the displayed artwork is copyrighted material owned by William M. Gaines, Agent, Inc. All Rights Reserved

left: Walt Kelly. Newspaper Comics Council ad campaign, 1962. New York Transit Museum NYCTA Photo Unit Collection

Winsor McCay, 1905. San Francisco Academy of Comic Art Collection, The Ohio State University Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum

Walt McDougall, 1893. San Francisco Academy of Comic Art Collection, The Ohio State University Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum

Art Young: In The Soul Crush, 1909. Flagler Museum Archives

Frederick Burr Opper: Our Omnibusses, 1881. Flagler Museum Archives

Frederick Burr Opper: The Streets of New York, 1884. Flagler Museum Archives

left: Ronald Wimberly: Prince of Cats, 2016. photo by Filip Wolak, courtesy of the New York Transit Museum

]]> 4416 https://www.printmag.com/daily-heller/design-aids-social-justice/ Wed, 29 Nov 2017 17:01:34 +0000 http://design-aids-social-justice AMPL!FY is a public art and design initiative that partners an artist or designer with a nonprofit organization working on the front lines of social justice to create thought-provoking posters on themes relevant to each organization.

Launched in New York City in November, AMPL!FY is organized by Make Art with Purpose (MAP) and Worldstudio and produced in partnership with New York City Department of Transportation’s Art Program, Museum of Arts and Design and Harlem Stage. The posters will be showcased on New York City Department of Transportation’s art display cases and in an exhibition at the Museum of Arts and Design through January 2018.

I asked co-founder Mark Randall (with Janeil Engelstad) to provide more amplification to AMPLIFY.

How did AMPL!FY get started?

A good friend of mine and long-time collaborator, Janeil Engelstad, launched a project in Dallas called Dialogues on Race in the fall of 2014. The program featured both community murals and billboards. The murals, designed by middle-school students, explored race relations between Latinos and African Americans, and documented the journey of migrants coming into the United States from Central America and Mexico.

Based on Janeil’s work, we decided to expand on the idea together. In 2015, we partnered with the AIGA New York Chapter Mentoring Program, in collaboration with the High School of Art and Design, to implement a version of Dialogues on Race. The posters were exhibited at the Shillington School of Graphic Design.

Our original vision for New York was to create an installation in the subway; we developed a concept for the long corridors at the W. 4th Street Station and were in conversation with the MTA about what it would take to make it happen. Then, the MTA changed the rules around the types of posters that could be posted, swiftly eliminating that option.

One day I was having coffee and a snack with Wendy Feuer, who runs the New York City Department of Transportation’s Art Program. I was lamenting the fact that our project was languishing, and did she have any ideas for a public venue? It so happened that she did and DOT came on board as our first partner and allowed us to use their streetscape art exhibition panels.

Projects like this often take time to develop—both Janeil and I became involved in other activities and were unable to devote much time to the effort over the course of 2016. That all changed after the election and we both felt a renewed sense of urgency to get the project off the ground. Shortly after that, the Museum of Arts and Design and Harlem Stage joined the team.

What is your ultimate goal for this kind of intervention?We want to use public art, exhibitions, community engagement and social media to support and promote the work of nonprofits addressing a range of social justice concerns. With beliefs in an equitable, just and prosperous world for all people, AMPL!FY promotes these values by helping to sustain and support the mission of organizations working on social and climate justice issues. These organizations often play a key role in protecting people’s inherent dignity, helping the underserved to achieve their full potential and practice uninhibited expression of their rights. Typically, these organizations do not have the financial capacity to communicate their work beyond their core supporters.

Jennifer Kinon and Bobby Martin/OCD

Seymour Chwast

DJ Spooky

You’ve done many New York street projects. How is this different in message and delivery than the others?

It’s a bit like herding cats with so many players, but I find it exciting to bring talented voices to bear on such a wide range of critical issues. What is unique for me on this project was the involvement of the nonprofits; typically I just involve the design community. Having their perspective gives the project the weight it needs; they are the experts and they know what they want to say on the subject. We very much wanted this to be a dialog between the artist/designer and the nonprofit—Bobby Martin and Jennifer Kinon collaborated directly with the students of the Lower Eastside Girls Club through a number of workshops they produced to create the poster.

What has been the response from the public?

It’s too early to tell about public reaction, but the response from the nonprofits has been amazing. When Rebecca Fischer, the executive director of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, saw the exhibition panel on gun violence, she was moved to tears. She said that to be a part of such intervention helps their efforts to garner additional visibility around this national crisis. This is what the project is about; for her to have the support of Edel Rodriquez to help visualize the issue is not typically something she would have the resources for.

Dread Scott

Edel Rodrigues

Gail Anderson and Joe Newton

Lissa Rivera

Why did you select the financial district to launch this?

There are 10 permanent streetscape exhibition panels installed in the Financial District. DOT has additional panels that can be installed in other parts of the city; in the spring of 2018 we plan to do an installation in Harlem and develop community programming with Harlem Stage. Having the exhibition at the Museum of Arts and Design gives us another venue to display the work and raise awareness around the issues.

What will the offshoots be, if any?

We are on the hunt for partners to help scale the initiative; our longer-term goal is to create interventions that support local social justice organizations all across the country. We have our sights set on several cities and will soon lay the groundwork to get those started.

Our vision is that in each city the artwork will respond to the environment in which it is displayed—it may take many forms, [such as] posters, mural, sculpture or video. In each case it will leverage local artists and designers to promote the nonprofit organizations working at the grassroots level on the critical issues that impact us all.

Morehshin Allalhyari

Rafael Esquer

Ryan Hartley Smith and Jerron Herman

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Discover all the features of the newest version of single-user font manager, Suitcase Fusion, in this free (!) live webcast on Dec. 7. Reserve your spot today!

]]> 3768 https://www.printmag.com/design-books/free-printable-stencils-protest-toolkit-visual-statements/ Fri, 10 Mar 2017 09:45:10 +0000 http://free-printable-stencils-protest-toolkit-visual-statements

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Back in 2011, Laurence King published a book by Patrick Thomas—the Protest Stencil Toolkit. Yes, it is a book, but it is so much more than a book. Instead of words and images, inside, you’ll find 46 die-cut stencils and a full alphabet of lettering stencils created using a bespoke typeface.

According to the publisher, the stencils “can be combined to create both slogans and powerful visual messages, and are robust enough to be re-used any number of times. There are classic symbols from the great protest movements of the twentieth century, as well as new images reflecting contemporary concerns—such as the environment and the economy.”

In today’s contentious political climate, the Toolkit is an excellent resource for any creatives who might be… say… marching, protesting, picketing, striking or otherwise expressing politically oriented visual statements.

So you can imagine our delight when our good friends at Laurence King not only sent us a copy of the Toolkit, but also 7 stencils that you can print out and use for your own purposes.

Note: We at PRINT are obligated to say that we do not condone vandalism. Rebellious signage, handmade posters, and legal street art on the other hand—well, let’s just say we’re big fans. So go to town.

7 Free Printable Stencils for Creating Visual Statements

INSTRUCTIONS: Click on each image or download link below to download a PDF of that stencil. Then print, cut and use! We recommend printing on cardstock for sturdier stencils.

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Need some inspiration for your protest poster design? Check out these:

• Now and Then: American Propaganda and Protest Posters

• Posters on the Women’s March—and 8 Creatives Behind Them

• 3 Gig Poster Design Trends & Styles

]]> 1331 https://www.printmag.com/daily-heller/weekend-heller-sticking-it-where-it-hurts/ Fri, 16 Dec 2016 17:41:04 +0000 http://weekend-heller-sticking-it-where-it-hurts Exercising freedom of speech is guaranteed by the Constitution. Designer Ken Carbone is sticking to this important principal. “These stickers are my minor protest against a major threat to the country and rational government,” he says. Just peel and inform.

]]> 10536 https://www.printmag.com/daily-heller/how-s-this-for-a-wall/ Thu, 15 Dec 2016 17:59:52 +0000 http://how-s-this-for-a-wall “Wall of Liberty” is an installation proposal by Cat Chap in collaboration with Irit Abir for building the United States/Mexico border wall. This dystopian-ironic concept suggests building a continuous chain of Statues of Liberty along the US/Mexico border. “The wall of connected concrete bases will protect the American people from any alien invasion,” says Mr. Chap. “Yet the American Spirit, so wonderfully represented and identified with the iconic image of the original Statue of Liberty, will keep on inspiring generations of people, who will not benefit from actually entering its borders.”

Since the design consists of a modular repeating unit, the massive concrete foundation can be naturally based in the diverse changing topography along the border line. Its foundations can be set into all kinds of existing ground, whether soil or deep water.

While the connected concrete base blocks any attempted entrance, the repetitive copper figures, all facing south, will serve to inspire the failed, humbly retreating. “We trust the irony will not be wasted on them,” Mr. Chap notes.

© 2016 Cat Chap (aka Oded Ezer) in collaboration with Irit Abir

‘Ode To The Mediterranean Sea’, 2016 © Oded Ezer in collaboration with Shani Dvora

Oded Ezer is a typographer and designer who under the pseudonym Cat Chap is an artist working in between the fields of conceptual and pop-art, mixing mainstream, popular and industrial objects and images with low and high technologies to create prints, installations and videos. Since Cat Chap was “born,” he has already exhibited “Oops” and “DeTech” at the Hansen gallery in Jerusalem.

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]]> 10535 https://www.printmag.com/daily-heller/street-art-collaborations/ Wed, 19 Oct 2016 18:37:22 +0000 http://street-art-collaborations Photographer Yoav Litvin began documenting street art after a battle with illness left him physically incapable of any form of exercise other than walking. As he began walking more and farther, he ended up exploring unfamiliar parts of New York City, where he “consumed more and more of the graffiti and street art culture [and] fell in love with its beauty, humor and the way it challenges convention.” His latest documentary book 2Create: Art Collaborations in New York City (Schiffer) is an intimate and insightful portrait of these artists who use the city as their canvas and the buildings and structures on which they are often illegally made as our museums of the street. I asked Litvin, who is also a neuroscientist, about what inspired him to collaborate with the collaborators. If you want to see and hear more, go to The Bronx Museum on Nov. 18.

How did this very ambitious project to cover the actual process of making street art come about?As the name of the book suggests, it is focused on two major themes—the process of creation, and the art of collaboration. I love the various mediums and techniques that graffiti and street artists employ, but noticed that all the books on the topic include completed pieces that are pretty to look at, but not very instructive. I wanted to inspire people to go out and actually make works for the streets. What better way than to demonstrate the process itself? The artists in 2Create use collage, screen printing, mural making and classic graffiti on a variety of surfaces.

While documenting my previous book, Outdoor Gallery – New York City, I befriended and gained the trust of many artists in NYC, who are very shy with strangers. I feel very fortunate that they shared their intimate spaces with me in 2Create.

cekis and cern.

dasic fernandez and rubin415.

dasic fernandez and rubin415.

icy and sot.

zimad and jpo

You’ve been interested in street and alternative art for a long time. How did you select your subjects?I worked with several of the artists on my previous book, and the rest are simply artists that I wanted to work with. I feel very fortunate that I’ve befriended and gained the trust of these artists. They let me into their studios, though they rarely allow that, and I’ve produced this book as a love letter to them, their work and this city. I focused on duos that I felt were producing good work that grows as a result of the collaboration. Some collaborations I produced, others I simply tagged along for a pre-planned production. The duos include friends, business partners, lovers and brothers. Through constructive critique and dialog, they inspire each other to stretch their own personal skills, learn new techniques and appeal to different audiences.

As I read through the book, many of your subjects don’t use their real names or even show their faces. What are the dangers of this kind of art intervention?New York is pretty strict. If they catch you putting up artwork illegally, you can sit in jail and/or pay fines. Nobody wants that.

Cekis and Cern.

190 Bowery in Manhattan was a designated graffiti zone after the photographer Jay Maisel bought it for $100K. It was sold to a developer. How do you feel about the tightening of the belt for street artists?This is a result of gentrification and neo-liberalism. The city wants to control public spaces, either for private or corporate use. Street artists that convey uncensored and independent messaging are being pushed farther and farther outside of the city. Street art and graffiti rebel against this notion of privatized public space and retake the streets. It is evident why a capitalist, hierarchical society like the United States, especially in the richest city in the nation, would push out any threat to profit.

Some of this art is just incredible—as much for what it says as how it was done. I’m thinking, among others, of Dasic FernandeZ and Rubin 415. How do you judge a piece of street art? Is there a standard or is the process of commandeering a space and making something good enough?Every person has their own taste. I personally like it when I identify artists, such as Rubin415 and Dasic FernandeZ, who are constantly evolving in their work and thought process. I also like artists who think about the communities they are working in, and structure their work with that in mind. For example, the piece by Rubin415 and Dasic Fernandez was created in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, around the corner from a halfway house. By the time they were completing the piece, the sidewalk was full of admirers.

Dain and Stikki Peaches.

There are individuals at work, but mostly these are collaborations. Stikki Peaches is one such. What did you learn about the process that was at once unique and singular to their work?Collaborations are very interesting. In order to collaborate effectively, each partner must have a flexible ego that is able to withstand critique and grow. Other qualities include trust, respect, empathy, curiosity, selflessness and ambition. It’s all about the process, not the final product.

asvp.

Returning to legalities. This is not an underground, clandestine art. Your subjects are very much in the open. How does that factor into their process?Some are out in the open, others are not (ASVP, Stikki and Dain, TRAPIF, bunnyM and Square). It’s up to the artist—I just went with their wishes. Most of them have been arrested at one time or another. They are experienced enough to know which risks are worth it, and those that aren’t.

bunnym and square.

Without cutting the baby in half, which of the pieces in the book are the most challenging, dangerous and/or inventive?It’s really hard to say. I love all the pieces for what they are. Some pieces are obviously more involved (bigger) and require more time—these include murals by Cern and Cekis, Dasic Fernandez and Rubin415 and bunnyM and Square. But that doesn’t mean they are more challenging. For example, ASVP are meticulous about their screen printing and go through hours of editing their images on a computer before they even touch any paint. Stikki Peaches and Dain lay out their collages and play around with them for hours before they start pasting them; Albert Diaz and Jilly Ballistic sift through images and letters before constructing the perfect combo. I want people to appreciate 2Create as a collection of processes that inspire artists and other creatives to collaborate fearlessly.

Jilly Ballistic and Al Diaz.

What’s next for you?I’ve started a project that looks at radical political movements in America. Like in 2Create, I’m also trying to dissect what works and what doesn’t as far as relationship building. It’s in very early stages so I’m not sure which direction it will take. I feel that with 2Create I’ve given New York City and its street art my everything, all the love that’s inside me (for now), and I need to investigate other places and movements.

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PRINT’s Typography & Lettering Competition—Test Your Type

All too often, typography gets overlooked in larger design competitions—which is why we developed one that gives the artforms their full due and recognizes the best designers in each category. Whether you design your own typefaces, design type-centric pieces or create gorgeous handlettered projects, we want to see your work—and share it with our readers.

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]]> 3318 https://www.printmag.com/culturally-related-design/mural-arts-project-turns-philadelphia-into-civic-art-space/ Thu, 15 Sep 2016 04:03:47 +0000 http://mural-arts-project-turns-philadelphia-into-civic-art-space Editor’s Note: Check out more impressive work from Philadelphia creatives in the Fall 2016 issue of HOW Magazine, where Ellen Shapiro profile’s the city’s studios, educational hubs and creative hotspots.

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Detail of mural by Miriam Singer

What do cities do about graffiti? Some citizens consider it an art form. Many consider it urban blight.

In 1984, Philadelphia artist, author, activist and teacher Jane Golden had an idea. She reached out to local graffiti writers, hoping to redirect their energies into constructive public art projects. She dubbed the program Mural Arts and organized the artists—many of whom were at-risk teens—into a mural-making collective.

Her dream became much more successful than she might have imagined; over the past 32 years it has grown into the largest public art program in the United States, engaging hundreds of artists to create murals that are among Philadelphia’s biggest tourist attractions. The mural-making process, Golden says, has proved to be a powerful tool for igniting change, generating dialogue, empowering communities, and sparking economic revitalization. Under her executive direction, Mural Arts has created more than 3,800 works of public art through collaborations with community organizations, city agencies, nonprofits, schools, private companies, and philanthropies.

In 2013,

J2 Design Partnership, a multidisciplinary, father-and-son design firm headed by brand strategist Alan Jacobson and creative director Brian Jacobson, was chosen to be Mural Arts’ design partner. Last year, J2 designed the branding for a citywide public exhibition about street art called Open Source and created a pop-up hub for it in an 1800-sq.-ft. vacant storefront in a high-rise office building in Philadelphia’s Center City. This month, says Brian Jacobson, a 150-page book about the space and the creative conversations and ideas that were generated is going to print. Here’s a preview for Imprint readers:

Bold window graphics by J2 attracted passers-by to the pop-up storefront hub.

Jane Golden addressing the media about the impact of Open Source on Philadelphia. This exhibit space, which won an SEGD Honor Award, featured a project wall, a flexible calendar wall, and movable panels for posting photos, videos, and interactive updates about the 14 commissioned public artworks on display throughout Philadelphia.

As just one example of Open Source events, artist MOMO taught his “practical geometry” methodology to students in Mural Arts’ Art Education program, then painted a mural with the students using those techniques. Mural Arts made “how-to” videos that instruct others on implementing the practice, and this October, young people who took the classes will teach the techniques to the general public.

The retail area in the storefront space doubled as a welcome desk where volunteers engaged participants and visitors.

On the project and calendar walls, visitors learned about the artists, viewed updates of the commissioned public artworks, and could plan their calendars around upcoming citywide events.

In this hands-on workshop, one of many held in the space, artist Heeseop Yoon shared her technique of rendering scenes of clutter and chaos using black masking tape on Mylar.

In fact, during 2015, virtually the entire City of Philadelphia became an Open Source space, featuring such events as trolley and walking tours between sites, both docent-led and self-guided tours with audio guides and maps. Programming also included a major launch party, artist and curator Q&As, lectures, film screenings, and a series of hands-on art workshops. Mural Arts continues to produce a full calendar of tours and events.

A skateboarder enjoys British conceptual artist Jonathan Monk’s sculptural re-interpretation of a Saul LeWitt painting in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. This is another one of the 14 Open Source projects curated by Pedro Alonzo to reveal aspects of Philadelphia’s urban identity and ignite continuing conversations about innovation, social change, and public space.

“The Open Source project was a catalyst for Mural Arts to rethink their overall brand,” notes J2’s Brian Jacobson. “For the past year, we’ve been working with them on a
total rebrand, which will be launching this October during Design Philadelphia. Our launch event will be one of 100 exhibitions, panel discussions, workshops, studio tours, book signings, etc., that will celebrate the work of the thousands of creative professionals who are part of Philadelphia’s reemergence as a city shaped by thoughtful design, collaborative business practices, and community engagement,” Jacobson adds. “At our launch event we’ll give participants a behind-the-scenes tour of what it takes to rebrand a legendary organization: the ups and downs, unseen designs and narratives, collaboration, and trust. Throughout the night, Jane Golden, my dad Alan and I will facilitate a discussion with the Mural Arts and J2 Design teams, and we’ll be asking for artistic contributions via Twitter, so be prepared to flex your creative muscles,” he warns.

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Read more about Philadelphia design in the latest issue of HOW, or subscribe to HOW design and PRINT magazines to explore every angle of creativity. From industry insights and career advice in HOW to poignant criticism and theory in PRINT, you’ll experience the best of the design world all year long.

]]> 10477 https://www.printmag.com/featured/15-artists-under-30-the-street-art-calligraphy-of-yazan-halwani/ Mon, 29 Aug 2016 05:17:04 +0000 http://15-artists-under-30-the-street-art-calligraphy-of-yazan-halwani Each week, we’ll feature a few of our New Visual Artists—15 remarkable up-and-coming artists and creatives under the age of 30. Read about Yazan Halwani below, and meet all of PRINT’s New Visual Artists in the Summer 2016 issue of PRINT Magazine.

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Meet New Visual Artist Yazan Halwani

Age: 22.

From: Beirut, Lebanon.

Current city: Between Beirut and Dubai.

Education: American University of Beirut (Bachelor of Computer and Communications Engineering).

Earliest creative memory: That is very hard to remember, as creativity for me is a continuous process rather than “eureka” moments. I create my pieces through continuous thinking and focus in small amounts of time for each piece.

detail featuring Arabic calligraphy for Yazan’s 2016 PRINT New Visual Artists cover

Path that led you to design: My main objective was to paint a positive image of my city, Beirut, after the civil war, and to remove all pictures of politicians on the walls that hijack the city’s beauty. I designed murals that sprayed across the city.

“The Arab Man, and the Asian Cherry Blossom Tree,” painted live during the Singapore Art Fair in 2014.

Mural of Lebanese singer and actress Sabah in the Hamra neighborhood of Beirut.

Career in a nutshell: An Arab muralist/artist on the move.

The key to good design: When a mural fits within the urban landscape as if the city was built around it.

Motto/design philosophy: Letters can be letters, faces and art at large.

Mural of Lebanese singer Fayrouz installed next to the 392rmeil393 art gallery in Gemmayzeh, Beirut.

Fayrouz on Canvas, Part of Yazan’s past show in Courtyard Gallery Dubai in March/April 2014

Biggest influence: Traditional Arabic calligraphers who paint old-school political propaganda banners—I love their talent, but hate their messages.

How you would classify your style: A blend of faces and Arabic calligraphy with a twist.

Design hero: I don’t believe in heroes.

Favorite artist: Leonardo da Vinci.

Favorite writer: A poet, Mahmoud Darwish.

A mural that serves as a tribute to Ali Abdallah, a homeless man that lived on Bliss Street in the Hamra neighborhood of Beirut, 2015.

Favorite typographer: An Iraqi calligrapher called Khalil Al-Zahawi.

What defines you: So far, my perpetual search for identity …

Cause that means the most to you: Making cities reflect the lives of their inhabitants.

Your idea of happiness: People getting possessive over murals I have painted: stealing my cement sculptures from the street, taking out a door that was part of my mural, or asking me to fix a mural that was damaged because the mural is next to their homes.

What you think the future of design is: For Arabic calligraphy at least: being able to express meaning not through the meaning of the word (which can only be understood by Arabic readers) but by the shape and stroke of the letter.

Website: www.facebook.com/yazanone

More work by Yazan Halwani:

Musical calligraphy

“The Arabic Spring, or the Girl and the Calligraphy Flower” in Djerba, Tunisia.

“The Flower Salesman” mural in Dortmund, Germany.

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Meet more of PRINT’s New Visual Artists in the Summer 2016 issue of PRINT, or subscribe to get print all year long.

]]> 10464 https://www.printmag.com/daily-heller/the-hate-destroyer/ Sun, 17 Jul 2016 18:48:40 +0000 http://the-hate-destroyer Irmela Mensah-Schramm is 67 and looks more like a white-haired grandmother than a German social/political activist, yet she has nonetheless been assaulted by neo-Nazis, threatened with pesky punitive fines and shunned by fellow Germans, and she continues her mission. Single-handedly, she documents and destroys racist and antisemitic stickers on mailboxes, street signs and lampposts throughout North Berlin. She is a lone wolf anti-defamation league. A documentary, “The Hate Destroyer,” shows her determination to exterminate racial and ethnic hatred that returned to Germany long before the refugee crisis began.

“The first time I removed a sticker, I felt so good that I had done something,” Mensah-Schramm told the website QUARTZ. The problem, however, is that eradicating street postings is a seemingly endless task, for which she suffers as much as she’s praised for her efforts.

Photo: Norbert Siegl

She is also the source of the exhibit at the exceptional Deutsches Historisches Museum titled Sticky Messages: Antisemitic and Racist Stickers From 1880 to the Present (on view until July 31).

“They are familiar to everyone and can be found sticking everywhere: on street signs, letter boxes, in underground stations, in children’s rooms, in love letters,” notes the introduction to the exhibition. But this kind of communication is not new. During the 1930s, stickers proclaiming “The Jews are our misery” were affixed on personal letters (see below).

Stickers and adhesive labels, like poster stamps, have been widely used since the late 19th century as a means to get messages out cheaply and quickly. They were also avidly collected. “Stickers with anti-Jewish pictures and slogans have always been extremely popular with antisemites,” continues the Museum’s introduction. “But Jewish organizations soon learned to fight back against these slanderous attacks and publicly combated the antisemitic propaganda. Even today stickers are used for political agitation. Stickers like ‘Refugees welcome’ or ‘Nein zum Heim’—short for saying ‘we don’t want any refugees living here’—serve to signal acceptance, to polarize or to intimidate people.” Sticky Messages tells of a social practice rooted in prejudices and recounts at the same time the history of fighting against these stereotypes.

Over the years, Mensah-Schramm has acquired the most extensive collection of radical-right stickers and graffiti in Germany. She rips them off, photographs and archives examples of each and spray paints or scrapes off the rest. “She’s got more than any state archive,” says Isabel Enzenbach, who curated the exhibit at the museum featuring Mensah-Schramm’s 80-plus binders of adhesive notes, trading cards, pictures, letter sealers and stickers from the German Empire, the Weimar Republic, National Socialism and on into the present.

Photo: © Swen Pförtner/DPA

The forthcoming documentary is still looking for funds, and as so much of Europe, Great Britain and the United States already knows, racist extremism is on the rise. (Go here to help support the film). The producers note: “Nowadays it’s her only reason for living, to the detriment of friends and loved ones. Alone, with her feeling of being improper, Irmela needs ‘to clean the world.'”

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]]> 2999 https://www.printmag.com/design-inspiration/morocco-s-street-art-renaissance/ Tue, 19 Apr 2016 04:51:51 +0000 http://morocco-s-street-art-renaissance When most people think of Marrakech, rarely does street art come to mind. There’s a reason for that—the ancient “red city” of Morocco has never had street art, until now.

For the first time, Marrakech has big roses, abstract shapes and figures around its city, which is all part of the 6th Marrakech Biennale that kicked off in February and runs until May 8.

The street art program is spearheaded by Terence Rodriguez and curated by Vestalia Chilton of Attollo Art and features 14 local and international artists from the UK, Italy and France to splash 10 public murals around the city for the MB6 Street Art Project, the first time the city of Marrakech ever had commissioned street art on its streets.

Marrakech is referred to as the “red city” because the king requested all of the city’s walls to be painted red, or what has turned out to be a salmon or a rose colour.

UK artist Dotmaster painted a cluster of red roses on a building, which he found to be symbolic of the city. “I was very aware I was going to paint in a culture that’s not my own and my usual subjects were not going to work in an Islamic country,” he said. “Islam resists the representation of living beings both man and animals… so my western stuff like trash, toys and rude kids were out. Marrakech is often called the rose city for its colour; everything is painted a reddish brown, coupled with the fact that Morocco is a major producer of rose oil.”

Dotmasters MB6 Street Art photo ©_Ian_Cox_2016

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There is even one seaside project by Italian artist Run (Giacomo Bufarini), who created the largest mural in North Africa in the neighbouring town of Essaouira. Bufarini has painted two people communicating across borders on the Moulay Hassan Square. Stretching out 6,400 meters, the mural could be considered symbolic of the current refugee crisis.

Bird’s-eye view of Essaouira mural by Giacomo Bufarini, aka RUN

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Sickboy painted what looks like an organic machine on a wall beside a tobacco vendor and Remi Rough painted a dazzling array of abstract ribbons that shoot into the color-matching blue sky. The French artist LX.one, who is part of the AOC collective, painted red, pink and purple geometric shapes, some which look like a Rubix Cube. Lucy McLauchlan painted a black and white mural of intersecting shapes and German artist MadC (Claudia Walde) took over a giant wall to create a whimsical pink, blue and turquoise composition.

Sickboys and Dotmasters working together

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This project all came about through Rodriguez, who knows the Marrakech Biennale founder, Vanessa Branson (sister of Richard Branson).

“It’s the first time it’s been done in Morocco, along with Rabat and Casablanca,” said Rodriguez, noting JIDAR, the Rabat Street Art Festival which launched last summer. “The street art here isn’t organized, there isn’t a tag, it isn’t signed, you don’t know who they are, but it already exists.”

Remi Rough, LX.One and Yesbee collaborative mural

Remi Rough and Lx.one

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The whole point of the biennale, he said is to make art for Moroccans. Even if several Moroccans don’t know about the biennale, “Street art is for everyone,” he said. “Taxi drivers, shopkeepers, locals and foreigners, the more artists, the more impact we have on the town.”

There have been significant challenges in pulling together a show like this – from bureaucracy to red tape and introducing something that Marrakech has never seen before.

Lucy McLauchan MB6 Street Art photo ©_Ian_Cox_2016

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“There was a lot of authorization here, we had to have the agreement of the king’s office, the mayor, the city and the wall owners here,” said Rodriguez.

Making murals here is not like tagging a subway car or painting on an electricity box. “In other countries, street artists paint with spraypaint at night,” he said. “This is first time foreigners have come to organize street art festival—here, the walls have been agreed and we’ve got permission.”

MadC MB6 Street Art photo ©_Ian_Cox_2016 (1)

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It isn’t your typical angst-ridden messages, either. Although the works here are graphic, stylish and colourful, that could be the end of it—for a reason. “Street art is subversive, it’s anti-government, it has pride, support,” said Rodriguez. “In Marrakech, everyone loves the king. You don’t have lots of anti-government feelings; you might say it’s more decoration than subversive.”

The 6th Marrakech Biennale runs until May 8, and is free entry. For all street art locations, visit MB6 Street Art Project.

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Related Resources:

1. Typography for the People eBook: Hand-Painted Signs from Around the World

2. Online Course: Figure Drawing

3. Figure: How to Draw and Paint the Figure With Impact

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