Secret Still

For the most part, and speaking only for myself here, dreams are strange, but not overly so. Generally I dream about the kinds of things I see or encounter, or could encounter in the world. My dreams aren’t peopled with fantastic and terrible monsters or surrealist images of the world come apart. I don’t think the same can be said for Paris-based artist Sebastien Faraut, aka NIARk1. His jagged, colorful, kinetic style makes me think that his dreams take place in a dimension otherwise undiscovered by dreamers like me, where monsters consume the world in day-glo hues like a Barbarella acid trip through the South American jungle. Maybe it’s because his painting style reminds me of Jeff Soto, but Faraut has inspired me to pick up a brush for the first time in a long time, which is the only compliment ever worth giving. Now I just need to come up with the dreams to back up my paintbrush. Let’s hope some late night Thai food does the trick.

NIARk1

Shifting focus, here’s some fine and dandy street art one time for your mind. Miso the artist, I like you as much as Miso the soup. Consider that my highest compliment.

Miso

Here we see the graffiti in its natural habitat. A timid creature, the graffiti tends to occupy the quiet, untrafficked areas of urban landscapes. It can often be seen grazing under overpasses, behind large buildings, or even in train yards. Due to overcrowding of its habitat, however, it has more recently been forced onto the streets and sidewalks, finding shelter in newspaper machines, on trash cans, even street signs. The graffiti has adapted itself to these adverse conditions by becoming smaller and less intricate, sacrificing its former beauty for survival. Often, in these more public environments, the graffiti’s lifespan is shortened to days rather than months or years, leaving behind the blank, geometric husk of their fully matured forms. The graffiti, one of nature’s most interesting creatures, is threatened by extinction from its modern, fast-paced, ever-changing environment, driven out by ads, a cunning and pervasive species, which can even mimic the graffiti’s appearance to gain further control on the ecosystem. These paintings of graffiti in their former glory may be all we have to remember them by in a few years when the species has silently faded away forever.

Jessica Hess

He’s like a French graffiti style Dr. Seuss, wearing brass knuckles and smoking a blunt. I’m pretty sure that makes us blood brothers. Or at least homeboys. Is that still a word? Homeboy?

Alexone

Ukrainian artist Irena Zablotska did something this morning that no one has done in a very long time (meaning a month or so). She inspired me to get back out on the street and paint a wall. Or actually I might start with a wall in my apartment, but either way she is the inspiration for my renewed interest in something big. She’s got that subtle something that’s very Eastern European about her work, and the other 95% of it is just plain, old badass. I especially enjoy the more geometric works. They remind me a little of Tim Biskup’s more recent works. I just can’t help it lately; I love all things geometric. When I close my eyes all I can see are lines and shapes intersecting and overlapping. Thanks to Zablotska, I’m going to be seeing those shapes on every blank wall I pass today.

Irena Zablotska

Found through B/D. I tried to place his style by comparisons, but there’s too much originality. Isoe’s got his own incredible style and it will be a basis of comparison from now on rather than a product of it. I’m a fan to say the least. I even like his webpage design. Isoe for the win.

Charlie Isoe

Don’t know shit about the dude. I know I’m into his hella grungy stencils and paintings. Do I really need to know anything else? Nuh uh. And neither do you.

VRNO

I’ve only ever visited the Metro DC area once in my life, and that was on a guided elementary school field trip. So I didn’t really get to see much of the city outside of the monuments and halls of government. I’m regretting never going back for a closer look at the non-political side of the city now that I’ve come across the work of DC artist D.Billy. David William, aka D.Billy, has recently embarked on a project to recreate the world as action art. Is that too hard a concept to understand? Basically he is trying to turn the whole world into a Michel Gondry movie. Using balloons, artists tape and whatever else he has at hand, D.Billy has started to illustrate how the world sounds. It’s a sweet project on top of an already impressive body of work. If you haven’t gotten the chance before, now’s the time to scope out his portfolio.

D.Billy

Wooster Collective is covering this pretty well, but I thought I’d throw out a quick mention of Dan Witz’s latest project, Ugly New Buildings. The project is a reaction to the gentrification of the New York neighborhood that he occupies, where beautiful, old buildings being torn down to be replaced with modern monstrosities. Using re-painted photo stickers Witz gives a new twist to the Kilroy graffiti that used to be so pervasive. There really is no better street artist than Dan Witz. He involves the environment so seamlessly in his work to magnify his statement, and his photo-realistic style is flawless. See what the King of Street Art thinks of New New York.

Dan Witz - Ugly New Buildings

Slinkachu, the most brilliant motherfucker behind The Little People Project has embarked on a new, and dare I say even more ingenious, art project. The Inner City Snail project takes your everyday garden snail and transforms it into a tiny piece of mobile street art. Non-toxic paints are used in case any of you were about to alert PETA; none of the snails get hurt. He’s also managed to incorporate his little people into the project, tying everything together in a tidy package. Tagging up snails? Fuck me that is awesome.

Inner City Snail