In almost every city you go, you will be surrounded by street art. Often, it is eye-catching. Often, it is thought-provoking. But when you come across something that is both beautiful and critical, it is hard not to stop and stare at the piece on the street to analyze the message that the artist is trying to convey.
Old Navy closed out 2015 by making headlines - but in this case, there is such a thing as bad publicity.
The controversy surrounded a toddler girls' t-shirt that read Young Aspiring Artist, where the word Artist is crossed out and replaced with another profession, such as Astronaut or President.
I am reminded of the time I went to the inauguration of Omen’s mural All it Takes is a Little Heart in Ville St-Laurent, in the fall of 2014. He addressed the press and city officials with a smile, “Remember when you used to call the cops on me? Now you pay me to paint walls.” This is Omen. He is larger than life.
After reading Sarah Thornton’s 33 Artists in 3 Acts dissection of the question What is an artist?, I sought answers from the artists represented by Station 16 Gallery. Omen was one of the first artists to whom I reached out. He is in Panama painting at the moment and posted his definition through social media: “Artists are people who take you through the world and lend you their eyes. It is more a burden than a technique. The artist has to be both egotistical and sensitive enough to want to convey this vision to the rest of the world.” These words were greeted with much enthusiasm, as is most of what Omen publishes. Fans and friends added comments: “The artist must make things in order to achieve this since what they see is often not yet named or explained in words.” “What we do as artists is a service to humanity,” chimed in another.
RIP Reefa, 2012
While street artists tend to keep their personal lives private, the Background Noise series on the Bomarr Blog adds another dimension to the identity of street artists: their favorite music. The series features weekly interviews with street artists along with a curated playlist by the respective artist. For street art fans like us, this is one of the coolest blog ideas we have come across. Over the past 10 months, the blog has featured a number of Station 16 artists, including Stikki Peaches, Enzo & Nio, gilf!, with the latest edition highlighting Whatisadam.
Image by Enzo&Nio
Yoav Litvin is a psychologist, scientist, writer and photographer living in New York City. Yoav has recently come out with a beautiful book on the contemporary street art and graffiti movement in NYC titled Outdoor Gallery – New York City, published by Gingko Press. His book features several of the artists showcased by Station 16 Gallery, such as Dain, Elle Deadsex, Enzo & Nio, Gilf! and LNY.
Armory Week is around the corner, and as we prepare to head to the Big Apple with an entire new collection of work, we can't leave without releasing some new products for all you folks who will not be attending Fountain Fair (Booth C-201) in New York City. Launching this THURSDAY at NOON online, we have an assortment of new prints that will also be on display at Fountain...
