DYSTOPIA FILTER III represents the third installment of a series of multimedia group exhibitions featuring a cross-section of some of today’s most vibrant creative talent.

Curated by Stephen Holding ( http://www.stephenholding.com/ ), DYSTOPIA FILTER III will take place …during Armory Week, NYC’s biggest and brightest art fair. Both the work presented and the crowd we received for the previous installment of DYSTOPIA FILTER were a huge success. Judging from the lineup this year, it will be even bigger and better:

Debbie Allen – http://www.debbieallen.tumblr.com
Adam Amengual – http://www.adamamengual.com/
Marion Bolognesi – http://marion-b.com/
Keely Brandon – http://www.flickr.com/photos/xxkeely
Anthony Calandra – http://www.anthonycalandra.com/
CASH 4 – http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/cash-4
CH0MB0 – http://leagueofbikepolo.com/user/ch0mb0
Naomi Cohen-Thompson
Dark Cloud – http://www.brooklynstreetart.com/theblog/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/brooklyn-street-art-dark-clouds-jaime-rojo-pantheon-03-11-web.JPG
Gregory De La Haba – http://delahaba.com/
Josh Durant – http://joshuadurantart.weebly.com/
Dust La Rock – http://dustlarock.com/blog/
Adrienne Dowd – http://www.adriennedowd.com/
Evoker – http://dramavisuals.freeservers.com/intro.htm
Josh Falk – http://joshfalk.blogspot.com/
Farika – http://farikaphoto.tumblr.com/
Percy Fortini-Wright – http://www.p14ewright.com/
Mike Hammecker – http://www.mikehammecker.com/
Stephen Holding – http://www.stephenholding.com/
Coby Kennedy – http://citizenkroger.com/home.html
Asif Mian – http://evaq.com/
J.S. Mildenberg – http://jsmildenberg.com/
Nathan Nadeau – http://metalwing.com/blog/2010/05/03/looks-like-a-bad-sign/
Mr. Never – http://www.mrnvr.com/
Adam O’Day – http://adamoday.blogspot.com/
Agustin Orengo
Miguel Ovalle – http://www.dizmology.com/
Daniel St. George – http://azstar78.com/
Dana Woulfe – http://danawoulfe.com/
Matt Zaremba – http://www.matthewzaremba.com/
Nick Z – http://www.youlovenickz.com/

So please join us for a drink and check out a cross-section of some of the most driven and talented creators working today. Hope to see you there!

Swoon in Somerville, MA
Photo: Geoff Hargadon

This past Sunday I checked out the Graffiti and Contemporary Art lecture at the Museum of Fine Arts here in Boston. Risk, Caleb Neelon and Roger Gastman were on hand to talk about many aspects of graffiti,  from the streets to the galleries and museums.  The crowd was a nice mix of young and old and didn’t have the usually stuffy vibe of a lecture at the MFA.  Neelon seemed to be the most comfortable spokesman of the three.  He spoke on a range of topics,  armed with the vocabulary of an Ivy League education, mixed with wit and sarcasm.  Neelon likened the “Graffiti vs Street Art” debate to the rivalry between Skateboarders vs Rollerbladers. When a member of the crowd asked who were the Rollerbladers, Neelon replied “Street Art of course”

Risk wondered aloud “I’m not sure why I’m even here”? though his presence was much-needed, not only for some comic relief but for his massive amount of street cred. He offered insight into the LA graffiti seen through the eyes of a living legend. He also introduced a video(see below) of an event that was organized by Saber to bring awareness to end the Mural Moratorium in LA. (and to big up their crew and fallen members)

At the end of the artist talk there was a Q&A session with the crowd. The questions ranged from the expected to the absurd. One member of the crowd asked of Neelon  “What do you call it when graffiti makes its way into a gallery?”… “Art”  Neelon said, with a sly grin.

Exit through the gift shop:  Left to Right, Caleb Neelon, Roger Gastman and Risk

Hey Boston,
Check out this event on Sunday. (description from the MFA website)

Explore graffiti’s dynamic history, from its underground origins to its mainstream emergence. Artist Risk discusses his work and the evolution of graffiti as an art form in Los Angeles and worldwide. Caleb Neelon and Roger Gastman discuss their new book, The History of American Graffiti, examining graffiti’s place in the realm of contemporary art. As its context shifts from street to museum, Jen Mergel asks speakers about shifting perceptions of graffiti, from unpopular to popular, illegal to celebrated, over the past 40 years.

Book signing with Neelon and Gastman follows.

Be sure to catch a screening of the film Wild Style (1983) as part of our Evolution of Graffiti day.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Purchase Tickets
Online:  Click here to purchase tickets
By phone: call the MFA Ticket line at 1-800-440-6975
In person: at any MFA ticketing desk

Ticketing desk hours: Mon, Tue, Sat, and Sun, 10 am–4:15 pm; and Wed–Fri, 10 am–9:15 pm

Photo by Risk

Roger Gastman, author and associate curator of “Art on the Streets,” Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art
Jen Mergel, Robert L. Beal, Enid L. Beal and Bruce A. Beal Senior Curator of Contemporary Art
Caleb Neelon, artist and author
Risk, artist

The contest will go all summer at the various tour stops and they will announce the winner at the Dew Tour in Las Vegas in October. The art will be on display to the general public both Friday and Saturday in the Green Label Experience tent.  The defending Skate Park World Champion and three-time Dew Cup Champion, Ryan Sheckler will look to repeat his World Champion status again in 2010. However, he will have to contend with the likes of Paul Rodriguez, Chaz Ortiz, Ryan Decenzo, Nick Dompierre, Jake Duncombe, Greg Lutzka and Boston-native Jereme Rogers. Fans can catch the skate park final streaming live on www.Allisports.com, Saturday, June 26 beginning at 7:45pm EST.Tickets to the Dew Tour’s Skate Open, ISF Skateboarding World Championships are available through Ticketmaster, Ticketmaster.com, and select Ticketmaster retail outlets, or by phone at (800) 745-3000.

Love him, hate him.. whatever..

He’s probably still put in more work than you..

and this time he’s reunited with Arkitip for issue No. 0051.

Shepard Fairey‘s new show “May Day” at the Deitch Projects will be the last show for the NYC gallery and Arkitip has decided to sell this issue for 50% off for one day only(May 1st).  If you caught his show at the ICA but didn’t get to score one of his signed prints, now is your chance. This issue includes a signed print made just for this issue.

At half off, I suspect they will go pretty fast. Click here to get yours

]]> http://studioscene.wordpress.com/2010/05/01/arkitip-shepard-fairey-issue-no-0051/feed/ 2 flatcolor1 arkitip0051-shepard_fairey-box Shepard Fairey Issue No. 0051 http://studioscene.wordpress.com/2010/04/16/dr-lakra-at-the-ica/ http://studioscene.wordpress.com/2010/04/16/dr-lakra-at-the-ica/#comments Fri, 16 Apr 2010 19:55:26 +0000 Mike Hammecker http://www.bostonherald.com/blogs/entertainment/art_scene/index.php/2010/04/16/dr-lakra-at-the-ica/ ]]> Nothings sacred.  Or is it?
When I was a child I would doodle on anything in sight. Most of the time it was drawing mustaches, tattoos and such on images in the local TV guide.
Dr. Lakra has taken that pastime to a whole new level in his first U.S. solo show at the Institute of Contemporary Art/ Boston.

(Picture by Mike Hammecker)

Jeronimo Lopez Ramirez, above, is a self-taught illustrator and tattoo artist who signs his work as Dr. Lakra. Using images found from flea markets and bookstores around the globe and painting over them he explores the cultural significance, taboos and prestige of tattoo based art. No image is safe, from portraits of politicians, seductive advertising and pop cultural figures,  Lakra changes their look and meaning all at once.

“I see my work, my tattoo work and other formats, as  a mixture of different iconographies from different cultures and places,” says Dr. Lakra. “I’m always trying to deal with this basic primal urge. Primitive instincts like Sex, violence, graffiti are all innate[to] human beings and not tied to one culture.”

In the piece above, you have Getulio Vargas, the former president of Brazil. He has been adorned with moko, the intricate body markings of the Maori. The photograph was appropriated from a program for a political gathering in the mid 20th century. These particular markings are reserved for chieftains and elite warriors from an indigenous New Zealand tribe, drawing parallels between the two types of leaders, asking the viewer to consider western representations of power. Moari, Chicano, Thai and Phillipine cultures are all present in his tattoo aesthetic, combining designs from inner-city gangs, religion, pulp fiction and pre-Columbian culture.

Aside from his tattoo work, Lakra draws and paints on various inanimate objects, from dolls(above) to ornate wall murals, straight forward portraits and vintage books. Using ink, pen and paint Lakra lends his brand of social commentary to a pre-existing image or idea.

One of my favorite images from the show is an actual 18th century woodblock print that Lakra has drawn directly on(above).
Using gang tattoos, he has turned this Sumo wrestler into an LA gangbanger. The Sumo image is one of strength and tradition. The tattoos really personify the similarities between the Sumo and the gangbanger as both cultures are steeped in history and tradition.

The curator, Pedro Alonzo, (seen in the video above) is also the one that brought Shepard Fairey to the ICA. He has an eye for edgy art, and artists who are well rounded at this point of their careers. Dr. Lakra, like Fairey, exhibited a large body of various works, and paired them with sight specific large scale installations, in Lakra’s case painted murals.
There is a lot to digest and take from this show, I highly recommend that you see it for yourself.

“Dr. Lakra” at the Institute of Contemporary Art, 100 Northern Ave., through Sept. 16. Tickets: $10-$15; 617-478-3100, icaboston.org.

Sister 2010 watercolor and pencil on birch panel 13 x 12 inches (33x30cm)

Is the subject sad? lonely? bored? playful? aloof? These are questions the viewer is inevitably left asking. The paintings are done on wood panels, and often the wood grain shows though the paint, or parts of the image are left intentionally blank so the background becomes part of the image. The organic nature of the canvas lends itself nicely to the figurative work. The brush strokes are delicate and thoughtful and bring to life emotion and curiosity.

I can’t post any more photos because of the racy nature of the work. I can say that they are tasteful nudes and it’s nothing I would consider pornographic. Click here to see more images

This is only her second solo show and it offers a great sign of things to come. Camilo Alvarez, the owner of samson projects , says “He’s happy to have a few of her original drawings in this exhibit as well, as they offer insight into her process and act as studies for the finished products”.

Check out her show 
March 26 – May 1, 2010
samson projects
450 Harrison Ave. / 29 Thayer St.
Boston, MA 02118
T 617 357 7177

Artist’s Reception:
Friday, March 26 / 6 – 8PM

preview show online at:samsonprojects.com

NEW Gallery Hours:
Wednesday to Saturday: 12 to 5
& by appointment