5Pointz: “The Institute of Higher Burnin’” or the 5Pointz Aerosol Art Center, Inc. is an outdoor art exhibit space in Long Island City, New York, considered to be the world’s premiere “graffiti Mecca”, where aerosol artists from around the globe paint colorful pieces on the walls of a 200,000-square-foot factory building.

The complex owned by Long Island developer Jerry Wolkoff houses the Crane Street Studios in which 200 artists pay below market rents for studio space. In 2009 a 450-square-foot studio was listed as renting for $600/month.

The name 5Pointz signifies the five boroughs coming together as one but, because of its reputation as an epicenter of the graffiti scene, the industrial complex has actually united aerosol artists from across the world. Legendary writers from Canada, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Japan, Brazil, and all over the United States have painted on the building walls, including Stay High 149, Tracy 168, Cope2, Part, and Tats Cru.

It was announced in March 2011 that Wolkoff plans to redevelop the property to build high-rise residential towers, putting the future of 5Pointz in jeopardy. Over the past five years they say real estate has gone up from $60 to $100 a square foot, making the real 5Pointz’s 200,000 square metres potentially worth $20m.

David Wolkoff, Jerry’s son, says their plans to build rental apartments in the space would include a street artist programme at ground level. He says that the demolition of the building is “unlikely to be this year”, but would be soon. Wolkoff, who has promised to retain a wall for artists to use, said “when the time comes” he would approach Meres to see if they might be able to work on something together.

“I know they’re upset that the building is coming down, and we are really appreciative of all the artists’ work there,” he said. “But the world changes.”

More articles on this issue:

• Queens Graffiti Landmark 5 Pointz is Set to be Demolished in 2013
• 5Pointz: New Yorkers prepare to say goodbye to a slice of hip-hop history
• New Yorkers Might Lose An Integral Piece Of Street Art And Hip-Hop History

• Currently 2.9/5 Stars.
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Her name is TIMOI. She became active in 1995; although drawing had always been part of her life it wasn’t until she moved to Los Angeles from Guatemala in 1990 that I was introduced to Graffiti art. She couldn’t keep her eyes from the art on the freeways, windows, poles, billboards, letters and characters telling stories.

Ayer LTS defined graffiti for her. She didn’t grow up on graffiti magazines or books so she based everything on what she saw on her daily commute in LA. Growing up in LA county she was really inspired by crews like LTS, KOG, TKO, MSK, AWR, WCA, RTN and artists like Tribe, Zes, Retna, Gkae, Chaka, Oiler, Cre8, Mear, Verse, Aybon, Atlas, Klean and Revok.

Other artists in the graffiti realm she admires are Banksy, Saber, Lady Pink, Jerk, Jel, Aroe Msk, Cope2, Indie184, Craola, Rime, ROID, Kween, Askew, Ezra, Chor Boogie, Augor, Apex, Risk, Seak, Os Gemeos, Nina, Vulcan, Chaka, Charlie DTK, Dream DTK and many others. The reason why she likes these artists as well is because they define graffiti and spray can art to her. As simple or intricate these artists are passionate about what they do/did.

Photos taken by Pep Williams.
Website: timoi.com

TIMOI quotes

• I believe the tag is a seed that can one day become a beautiful fruitful tree if given the opportunity.
• I love Graffiti and there is no doubt or fear about it. Graffiti is my life and being a female is like the ‘a la mode’ on an apple pie.
• I do not allow myself to be limited by what others might consider good or bad ‘for a girl’. Such comments usually come from ignorant individuals who just don’t know any better.

Instead of criminalizing graffiti artists, we should be given scholarships and grants to grow.

• I love Graffiti and there is no doubt or fear about it. Graffiti is my life and being a female is like the ‘a la mode’ on an apple pie.
• As corporations profit from the commercialization of graffiti, the ones who are practitioners of the art who profit from their own culture are seldom.

When Paintball meets Street Art the end result can only be amazing! These Paintballing legends turn the graffiti world on its head using their paintball guns to create awesome street art images.

Inspired by Mountain Dew these street artists carve rolling vistas of colour with their paintball guns in a space, and a world usually reserved for Graffiti Kings.

(via stencil.ro)

Festivalul International de Graffiti este organizat de Facultatea de Arte si Design Timisoara impreuna cu Fundatia Timisoara ’89 si alti parteneri.

Acest festival se va desfasura la Timisoara in perioada 15-17 septembrie 2011. Acest eveniment va fi constituit din doua sectiuni: “Sectiunea Graffiti/Street Art” si “Sectiunea de comunicari relationate cu Graffiti/Street Art”.

Graffitiul va fi celebrat ca arta stradala, timp de trei zile, in capitala Banatului. Nu mai putin de 8 loca?ii vor gazdui desenele participantilor: Usoda, Poli, Electro, Dacia, Kandia, Traian, Piata Iosefin si Surogat. In total, aproximativ 3000 de metri patrati!

Sectiunea Graffiti/Street Art

Organizatorii estimeaza ca vor fi folosite peste 1.000 de tuburi de spray si 100 de kilograme de vopsea de exterior. La eveniment vor participa si trei artisti interna?ionali: MadC, Omsk167 si Caparso.

* Termen limita de inscriere/participare pentru Festivalul International de Graffiti
1 august 2011

Conditii de participare

• Varsta minima: fara
• Fiecare artist care va primi invitatie (si nu numai, oricine este binevenit), va completa formularul de inscriere/participare (CV) din pagina alaturata, urmand a-l trimite pe adresa de e-mail fig.timisoara@gmail.com pana la data mentionata mai sus (subiect: InscriereFIG + nume/nickname).
• Sa completeze date privind activitatea sa (+ alte evenimente) insotite de minim 5 lucrari personale reprezentative.
• Sa trimita un material (schita color/alb-negru, referinta etc) asupra a ceea ce doresc sa execute in cadrul festivalului insotit de dimensiunile aproximative ale lucrarii lungime/inaltime (si necesarul de materiale, ales de pe site-ul molotow.com, max. 30 tuburi/persoana). Nu exagera! Unde nu este posibila trimiterea unei schite, atunci se va face o mica descriere a lucrarii.
• Datele din formular vor fi folosite la redactarea catalogului. Prin trimiterea formularului, fiecare artist accepta neconditionat regulamentul.
• Nu se accepta lucrul in echipa (crew-uri), fiecare participand pe cont propriu.
• Sustinem artisti individual, nu grupuri.

Organizatorii
Isi rezerva dreptul de a reproduce si publica lucrarile cu scopuri promotionale si asigura:

• Anonimatul (in CV, participantii vor bifa daca doresc sa apara in catalog si alte materiale cu numele real sau cu porecla/nickname)
• Editarea unui catalog
• Spatiu de exprimare
• Materiale (vopsele de fundal, sprayuri etc.)
• Cazare, masa, paza

Nu se asigura transportul!

Sectiunea de comunicari relationate cu Graffiti/Street Art

Pentru a participa la aceasta sesiune de comunicari sunt invitati sa participe specialisti in arte decorative, design si street art si domenii conexe de relevanta (arhitectura, urbanism, media/jurnalism, comunicare, semiotica etc.). in acest sens, va rugam sa trimiteti prin mail corinani@gmail.com materialul propus (maxim 5 pagini cu tot cu imagini) fiind redactat astfel:

• font – Times New Roman / 12 pt
• spatiere 1,5
• bibliografie

* Termen limita de inscriere/participare la “Sectiunea de comunicari relationate cu Graffiti/Street Art”
1 septembrie 2011

PS – Pentru alte informatii, intrebari, nelamuriri, propuneri etc, trimiteti un mail la fig.timisoara@gmail.com

I feel sorry for the guy that did this, but how can he not know about Banksy? :-S

(via The Guardian)

With the help of a new pie chart stencil by interactive media artist Golan Levin, creating politically charged graffiti just got a bit easier. The fully customizable “Infoviz Graffiti” toolkit allows users to quickly swap out the numbers and letters and adjust the slice of the pie.

The stencil design is available as a PDF on Levin’s blog. There is also a documentation available.

If you’d like to make one for yourself, you’ll need:

• 1/8″ (3 mm) thick sheet material, suitable for lasercutting.
• a one-inch 1/4″-20 bolt, wing-nut and suitable pair of washers.
• scotch tape or masking tape (to hold the letter in the stencil)
• a bag (for storing the letters)
• Spray paint
• A laser cutter!

De cativa ani buni graffitiul este utilizat (LEGAL!) pentru decorarea arhitecturala. Demonstratia este facuta de un tip din Hanovra.
Multumim MTN pe aceasta cale pentru material.

Un alt articol pe aceeasi tema puteti vedea aici.

Some city councils get it, others don’t. Tapping the creative talents of street artists, illustrators and graphic designers is an effective and cool way to make bland public spaces, old buildings, bridges and car parks new again, and to freshen up the concrete jungle.

It is also an effective way of keeping graffiti away. Plus it draws attention to the building or structure as “potential” not as something to be hated. Maybe it will even bring a buyer, a new occupant or additional creative ideas about how to revitalize the building? Anything but the current dilapidated state of abandoned spaces!

Infographics never tell the whole story in that they omit details and attempt to make clear narratives where none exist. But Daniel Feral’s GRAFFITI & STREET ART graphic, which is labeled “a 75th Anniversary celebration of Alfred H. Barr, Jr’s CUBISM & ABSTRACT ART diagram,” attempts to create reason out of the more chaotic narratives of Graffiti and Street Art movements.

The image was recently broadcast to art peeps as part of the latest press release from the people behind the PANTHEON: A history of art from the streets of New York City exhibition, which you may remember from our post about their Kickstarter a while back.

I wonder if Feral realizes how reviled Barr’s original 1936 diagram is nowadays. Or maybe he’s doing this as a parody — which I thought it must be, when I first heard about it. Either way, I like the level of ambition in the diagram but it is a very subjective diagram — much like Barr’s — that demonstrates its maker’s own perspective, preferences and biases.

The images exclude a lot of categories and subcategories, and also emphasizes other facets that seem more marginal.

More on Hyperallergic and on Jake Dobkin’s infographic challenge.

Here are the video highlights from Circo Crew (Spain) graffiti tour in Bucharest. [via Cage]

The winning entry will be announced on GOOD.is on March 31, featured on their homepage, and printed in the next issue of GOOD. They’ll also send a GOOD T-shirt and a free subscription (or gift subscription) to the winner.

We wish you all good luck!

Here’s the official announcement.

the THEME

Street art’s unexpected beauty and ingenuity has long captured our attention at GOOD. But recently the renegade art movement seems to have seeped into the mainstream, with the help of Google’s new street art mapping project, Banksy’s Oscar nomination for his documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop, and JR’s TED Prize. It seems like street art is everywhere these days, and we want to separate the just OK from the mindblowing.

the OBJECTIVE

Street art has the power to transform everyday surroundings into thought-provoking scenes and fantastical landscapes. The latest GOOD Project wants to know: What’s your favorite piece of street art where you live?

the REQUIREMENTS

Submit your entry here.

Please include the following pieces of information with your photo:

• Your name
• Where you found the art work
• The title of the piece – whether its an official title or a name you gave it
• The artist’s name (if known)
• Up to 40 words on the significance of the piece

Your photo can be in any image format, but it should be high enough resolution that it can be printed at 300 dpi. We’ll take submissions now through Monday, March 21. Then we’ll publish a Picture Show with a selection of the submissions.

Once we receive the images, we will turn to you, the GOOD community, to choose the winning submission by voting. The winning entry will be announced on GOOD.is on March 31, featured on our homepage, and printed in the next issue of GOOD. We’ll also send a GOOD T-shirt and a free subscription (or gift subscription) to the winner.

(via GOOD)