This is a new low – or a new high – but probably the former. I hope a NY writer got paid well to do the design – otherwise it is a shame that yet again graff is ripped – while kids who write on walls are thrown in jail – in “Brooklyn”.

“BROOKLYN, a fragrance by Bond No. 9, will hit stores in March … The genteel fragrance contains grapefruit, cardamom, cypress, cedar and leather, while the graffiti-inspired bottle retains the borough’s grit and edge.”

Click here for more from the NY Post.

STREET SHOTS Photographs by Martha Cooper

OPENING RECEPTION: FRIDAY, JANUARY 16TH, 8-11PM

EXHIBITION DATES: JANUARY 16TH – FEBRUARY 13TH, 2008

SUBLIMINAL PROJECTS GALLERY
1331 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
E: info@subliminalprojects.com
P. 213.213.0078
F. 213.213.0077

Martha Cooper had been photographing creative kids in action on city streets since the mid-1970s.  In Street Shots, opening January 16th at Subliminal Projects, her photos reveal the imaginative children of pre-renewal New York City as they mined the abandoned lots of the city to create toys from trash.  Cooper, renowned for her graffiti and hip-hop pictures, brings those classic images together with ones depicting inner-city kids building forts from scrap, catching flies in cola bottles, and racing homemade go-karts – all without adult supervision.

The opening of Street Shots also marks several debuts: Coopers’s new book, Going Postal, a collection of photos of postal labels bearing street art; her image collaboration with Shepard Fairey, available as a screen-print poster; and her own Obey line, with photos printed on clothing, bags, and skateboards.  All will be available for purchase at Subliminal Projects, along with Cooper’s other books, including Subway Art, Hip Hop Files, Street Play, We B*Girlz, and Tag Town.

Click here for more.

When:
January 17 – 19th

Where:
MANIFEST HOPE: DC Gallery
3333 M Street NW
Washington DC 20007

From their site:
“MANIFEST HOPE:DC and its partners MoveOn PAC, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and Obey Giant launches a contest today, calling for entries of visual artwork from artists across the country in an online contest. The online contest calls for works that use positive messaging to convey the urgency and importance of encouraging a national dialogue about three themes – Heath Care Reform, the Green Economy and Workers’ Rights.

Building upon the success of MANIFEST HOPE at the Democratic National Convention, MANIFEST HOPE:DC will, once again, gather under one roof the nation’s most talented visual artists and musicians to celebrate the unparalleled grassroots campaign that helped carry President-Elect Barack Obama to victory. Art played an unprecedented role in this election. MANIFEST HOPE:DC celebrates that role, inviting artists to contribute to this remarkable moment in history by creating a forum for both artists and activists to use their powerful voices in maintaining the momentum that will bring about true change in the United States.

MANIFEST HOPE:DC and its partners are offering the public an opportunity to submit art in an online contest, with three chances to win.  The contest is comprosed of three parts.  Artists can make one submission per category, totaling a maximum of three submissions:

Manifest Opportunity – Stimulating The Green Economy
Manifest Change – Health Care Reform
Manifest Unity – Protecting Workers’ Rights

Submissions will be reviewed by a panel of judges including famed artist, Shepard Fairey; Director, Spike Lee; Washington DC based musician, Eric Hilton of the Thievery Corporation; Curator of Contemporary Art at the Smithsonian Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Anne Ellegood; SEIU 775NW Healthcare President, David Rolf; Creative & Cultural Director of MoveOn.org, Laura Dawn; and Co-Founder and President of Green For All, Van Jones. Fifteen finalists will be selected to show in the MANIFEST HOPE:DC Gallery alongside well-known artists such as Shepard Fairey, David Choe, Ron English, Ray Noland, Maya Hayuk, Sol Sender and Mike Murphy.

MANIFEST HOPE:DC co-creator Shepard Fairey is known world wide as one of the most prolific urban artists and as designer of the highly visible Obama HOPE posters, stickers and shirts that have been embraced by Obama supporters as the symbol of the grassroots movement. Fairey’s prolific image sparked a maelstrom of grassroots art that has been hung in not only in high-art galleries but volunteer and campaign offices as well.

Creating an inviting and inspiring destination for both those in town to celebrate the inauguration and for residents of Washington DC and the area, MANIFEST HOPE:DC (3333 M Street NW, Washington DC 20007) will be open to the public from Friday, January 16th, 2009 through Monday, January 19th, 2009 from 10:00 am – 6:00 pm.  Visitors will be invited to take in spectacular art, participate in interesting onsite activities and most importantly encouraged to continue to engage in the grassroots movement that carried Barack Obama to the White House.

In addition to the public art gallery, MANIFEST HOPE:DC will host a private, invite-only opening event on Friday, January 16th, 2009 and a closing celebration & inauguration party on the evening of Monday, January 19th, 2009.

MANIFEST HOPE:DC is produced by Evolutionary Media Group and brings together a diverse coalition of organizations working to achieve shared goals.”

Click here for more.

While in Iceland for the Reyjavik International Film Festival, Director Jon Reiss and I (Co Producer, Harrison Bohrman) were invited to be part of a city hall panel on graffiti and street art.

Artist Thordis Claessen, author of the Icelandic street art book, ICEPICK, was also there (far left) in addition to government official, Jakob Magnusson (second on the right).

Debates over art, personal expression and free space in Iceland seem to be heating up and it was an amazing event to be a part of.

We’ll make sure to keep you posted on what comes of the panel and the future of graffiti in Iceland.

Thanks to everyone who came out to the event!

Visual artist Shepard Fairey, whose “Hope” and “Progress” images have become iconic among Obama supporters, was arrested last week in Denver while putting up those posters on the streets of Denver. In a video interview with the social network imeem (see below), Fairey said he was arrested by Denver police, dressed in full riot gear, on charges of posting bills and “interference.” He was held for 16 hours before being released. Fairey, who pled guilty and paid a $140 fine, says the Denver arrest was his 14th for postering.

Click here for more from Imeem