JC's blog

Yo! Peace will be releasing a new hand-pulled serigraph by Doze Green, featuring his classic character style on June 11 2010.

"Taino" is a signed and numbered edition of 100. White ink on Arches Black paper (250gsm). 11 x 30 inches (28 x 76 cm).

Onsale at yodepot.com at 1pm (PST) on Friday, June 11.

Technorati Tags: Doze Green, Art, Poster, Print, Serigraph, Urban, Graffiti, Taino, Native

We recently screen printed a reproduction of a classic Barbara Kruger piece for the Center for the Study of Political Graphics. It was part of a portfolio in honor of their 20th anniversary and was presented at the CSPG yearly awards dinner held in Los Angeles on October 17th. This year's honorees were June Wayne, David Kunzle and Juan Fuentes. It was great to see these amazing people talk about their work, and an honor to print for Barbra Kruger.

Prints are available through the CSPG.

Technorati Tags: Activism, Activist, Art, Political, Poster, Art, Barbara Kruger, Center for the Study of Political Graphics, CSPG

Stencil of Rush Limbaugh in downtown LA by artist John Carr.
Technorati Tags: Art, Rush Limbaugh, Stencil, Art

Punk rock montage artist and icon Winston Smith is having a major retrospective art show in LA at Copro Nason Gallery at the Bergamot Station art complex. Opens Saturday October 3rd from 8 PM to 11:30 PM. Winston will be in attendance.

Winston Smith's art has majorly influenced a generation of artists and designers. He is regarded by many observers as the most significant Western socio-political montage artist since Germany's John Heartfield. You can read more about him on Wikipedia or check out his 3 published collections: Act Like Nothing's Wrong, Artcrime and All Riot on the Western Front.

In related news, our friends at Buddha Cat Press and Paperworks Laboratories have teamed up to produce a jaw-dropping limited edition serigraph of the famous "Idol" image which graced the Dead Kennedys 2nd album or In God We Trust, Inc. The print will be available at the show and on the Paperworks Laboratories site (while supplies last of course).

Technorati Tags: Art, Political, Poster, Art, Culture, Exhibition, Printmaking, Collage, Montage, Winston Smith

Looks like graffiti artists in at least one UK town are getting a small break. Bristol, a city of nearly half a million inhabitants in the south west of England, happens to be the hometown of graf/stencil artists Banksy and 3D. After seeing the star-powered boom to their local economy brought about by Banksy's solo art show at the Bristol City Museum, locals are starting to think differently about the persecuted art form. The city council will begin to vote on whether certain pieces should be allowed to remain on walls instead of the default buffing that now occurs. According to a Reuters article: "Under the new policy, unsightly graffiti will still be removed swiftly, but the council will consult on murals or artwork "deemed to make a positive contribution to the local environment" and where the property owner has no objections."

Zero tolerance anti-graffiti policies are still the norm across the UK and EU. Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair is known to have signed a 2004 "Keep Britain Tidy Campaign" charter which in part stated that "Graffiti is not art, it's crime". Under the UK's 2003 Anti-Social Behaviour Act, city councils can mandate the removal of any graffiti pieces, large or small, regardless of the building owner's wishes.

While Bristol's voting process will no doubt be a source of controversy in the graff community, and while law enforcement unfortunately will still be the overarching framework under which public art is handled, we applaud the move away from zero tolerance thinking and towards a more open attitude.

Technorati Tags: Art, Exhibition, Graffiti, Anti-Graffiti, Painting, Stencil, Street Art, Streetart, Urban, Banksy, Bristol

Recent pasteups seen on the streets of LA.

Opening in Downtown LA at Crewest Gallery is a groundbreaking show called "From the Streets of Iran: Works on Paper by Urban Artists in Iran", curated by friend of yopeace.org, Shervin Shahbazi. This exhibit is the first of its kind in the U.S. featuring graffiti-based works on paper by ICY, SOT, FRZ, MAD, and CK1. These artists have exhibited their work in Europe and Australia, and this is their United States debut.

From the press release: "The artists draw inspiration from Iran’s rich heritage of calligraphy, visual arts, revolution and the state in which they live, as well as their exposure to graffiti and urban art in the West. Their work encompasses a broad range of subject matter—from urbanism and political resistance to scenes of everyday people and the innocence of youth. Each of the artists practices their own aesthetic. In some works, detailed hand styles overlap with spray can imagery; in others, stencil work and careful attention to texture affect a stylized photorealism. However the individual styles may differ, the works as a group resonate with hope and a determination to realize the promise of a better future from the streets of Iran."

Preview images look amazing...can't wait! The two pieces pictured here are stencil paintings.

Opening Reception Thursday, September 10, 2009 at 6:00pm
Runs through Saturday, September 26, 2009 at 9:00pm

Crewest
110 Winston St.
Los Angeles, CA

Technorati Tags: Art, Poster, Exhibition, Graffiti, Painting, Politics, Printmaking, Stencil, Street Art, Streetart, Urban, Iran, Iranian

I'm looking forward to the upcoming Los Angeles installment of the Bicycle Film Festival, now in its 9th year. Combining film, art and music across multiple venues, it is looking like it will be a blast. It takes place August 26-30 here, but other upcoming U.S. cities include Chicago, Boulder, Orlando, Milwaukee, San Diego among many others, plus a there are a bunch other international dates. Check their website for dates near you.

In a related but different event, this coming weekend August 16th will be Bike Day LA, an event taking place in Hollywood at Space 15Twenty. 

Technorati Tags: Art, Culture, Film, Bicycle, Cycling, Festival

Curator and artist Josh MacPhee is putting together another exhibition of his now classic Paper Pollitics print show.

Details:

Paper Politics: Socially Engaged Printmaking Today
200 prints from 200 artists

Ghostprint Gallery
220 W. Broad St.
Richmond, VA 23220
www.ghostprintgallery.com

Opening Reception:
Friday, August 7th, 7-10 pm

show runs August 7th-August 29th, 2009
Wed-Sat, 1-7pm or by appointment

Technorati Tags: Activism, Activist, Art, Political, Poster, Exhibition, Printmaking, Josh MacPhee, Richmond

Afrika Bambaataa, widely considered the godfather of Hip Hop, was one of the first artists & leaders to insist that political/social/historical consciousness be fused with the culture of the genre. His life as a gang leader in the Bronx during it's rough 70's heyday influenced him to form the Zulu Nation, a Hip Hop organization dedicated to driving the street culture traditions of pride and competition away from violence towards self-knowledge, excellence and respect. His expansive worldview led to some of the first crossovers between Hip Hop and Punk. Contrasted against the blight of much of today's mindless rapping about being drunk in a nightclub (notwithstanding the great Hip Hop artists that continue to inspire), his achievements stand like a monolith in troubled waters.

A limited edition fine art screen print poster of Bam was released by Hard Pressed Studios on November 12th, 2008 to coincide with the official birthday of Hip Hop and the anniversary of the Zulu Nation. The image is a portrait by photographer Theo Jemison and remixed by graf artist Kofie One. This 18" x 24" limited edition screen print was printed with 8 colors (including metallic gold ink) at Hard Pressed Studios in Los Angeles CA and signed by Afrika Bambaataa, Kofie and Theo Jemison. Each of the 100 prints is priced at $135. yodepot.com.
Technorati Tags: Activism, Activist, Afrika Bambaataa, Art, Culture, Graffiti, Hip Hop, Kofie, Music, Political, Poster, Art, Urban