Belfast Peace Line Wall

An amazing project in a troubled place.

Apex Interview

VIMBY - Apex

La Entrada Project Update

La Entrada Project - Wall1 from geraluzlove on Vimeo.



LA Frida Le Che from geraluzlove on Vimeo.


Documentation
Walls
Workshops

Artists Crol vs Werc

Harlem Wall of Pride going condo

Better go get some photos now.

Thanks to Omar for the tip. Thanks to James T.O.P. for all you do.

Los Angeles is poised to kill its murals, past, present, and future

I.C.U. Art Response to Revised Sign Ordinance Proposal of 2/12/09
The second version of the Proposed Sign Ordinance was posted on 2/12/09. My comments are below. This ordinance is posted at the following link: http://cityplanning.lacity.org/ on the www.lacity.org web site under ?Plans & Ordinances? ? ?Proposed Ordinances?. Unfortunately none of the recommendations that I.C.U. Art or the Cultural Affairs Commission offered were incorporated into the revised Sign Ordinance. Below is my evaluation of the new proposal. It looks like we are going to have to really fight for this one. One good thing, is that we do have the Cultural Affairs Commission and the Cultural Affairs Department working to support our position.

Public Hearing for the Presentation of the Revised Proposed Sign Ordinance
The public hearing on this issue will take place as a Special Meeting of the Planning Commission at 8:30AM on Thursday morning February 19th in Room 350 at City Hall, 200 S. Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012. Speakers will most likely have only one minute to speak. I encourage people to submit comments in writing in advance in addition to speaking. The meeting will most likely take several hours. The earlier you arrive and submit your speaker card, the early you will speak.

Letters of Support and Contact Info
If you cannot get to the meeting, you can send a letter of two pages or less to the Commission Secretariat, 200 North Spring Street, Room 532, Los Angeles, CA 90012 phone 1-(213) 978-1300. If you cannot get a letter to the Secretariat before the meeting, you may bring it to the actual meeting. You must included 15 copies and the agenda item number. I also encourage you to contact the Mayor as well as any City Councilmembers as well as members of the public who will be impacted by this proposed ordinance so that they may work to influence the content of this poorly conceived of plan.

You can send me letters. Please include your address, and please sign the letter. You can mail letters to Stash Maleski, ICU Art, 2554 Lincoln Blvd #162 Venice, CA 90291 USA or fax them to +1 (310) 414-9932 or email me at icuart@aol.com

CAC Plan Rejected
On 2/11/09 the Cultural Affairs Commission (CAC), working with the Cultural Affairs Department (DCA) presented their plan for how they feel that murals should be treated. I helped to develop this plan, and I feel it is a worthy plan to support. Although the plan is not perfect, I believe it is a good compromise under the circumstances. The letter from CAC with this plan is attached.

Since none of the Cultural Affairs Commission (CAC) recommendations from 2/9/09 were incorporated into the new proposal, I was hoping to hear that the reason for this was because Planning did not have enough time to evaluate the new CAC Plan. Unfortunately that is not the case. Alan bell in Planning told me that Planning did evaluate the CAC plan and decided that it would only be used by commercial advertisers.

Planning believes the only viable avenue for fine art murals of any size is through a public easement program. Planning felt that because a building owner would get more money from a commercial advertiser than a fine art muralist for this 300 sq ft. mural set-aside space ? this space would only be used by commercial advertisers. This is regardless of the constraints of the CAC plan that require a mural to be hand-painted, unique, not to cover a window, include no more than 15% text, and have a mural maintenance program. Planning?s logic breaks down when pressed on this issue as I point out below.

Planning Allows for Fine Art Murals as Part of the Regular Allotment of Signage
Under the new proposal, Planning feels that it is allowing for fine art murals to be put up as part of the allotted space for on-premise signage, which uses a ratio of 2.5:1. This formula basically allows for 2.5 sq ft of signage for every 1 foot of linear street frontage for that building. The problem is that this includes all of the on-premise signage and off-premise advertising. The Planning Department recommends a ?content neutral? approach to signage that would not distinguish between on or off-premise signage. Thus, all or none of the allotted signage could be used for off-premise advertising. If you have a building that has 50 linear feet of street frontage, than you would get 125 square feet of allowable signage to use for whatever you like. You could use it for on-premise signage, you could use it to advertise off-premise products or you could use it for a fine art mural. This is unacceptable for several reasons.

This entire allowance of sign area will be maxed-out by on-premise signage. Any remaining square footage of allowable signage could be sold to a commercial advertiser ? with no limits on text and no requirement that it be hand painted. So using the Planning Departments own logic ? that space would be sold to the highest commercial bidder ? not a fine art muralist. Most likely the signage would not be hand-painted. There would be no restriction against digitally printed signage on vinyl for example.

The 2.5:1 ratio is a reduction from the current regulations which allowed for up to 4 sq ft or sign area for every linear foot of street frontage (4:1). Even under the current 4:1 ratio, this formula did not allow enough square footage that would allow an artist to create something in-scale that could really be considered a mural. Primarily this is because most buildings have more than enough existing on-premise signage to use up the entire allotment. Thus, the reduction to 2.5:1 will hinder mural production under the nomenclature of a ?sign?, even more.

Must Be A Set-Aside for Murals ? CAC Plan
There has to be a set-aside for murals that is in addition to on-premise signage. The CAC plan was a fair compromise. The majority of the muralists who attended the Artist Meeting on ?Murals and the New Sign Ordinance? at Crewest Gallery on 2/11/09, support the CAC plan. Although artists generally feel that 300 sq ft is small for a mural, and that they have some concerns, they were willing to back the plan as an acceptable compromise with the condition that artists help craft the details of the Mural Easement Plan for murals over 300 sq ft.

Improper CEQA Findings and Fines for Murals

The Planning Department states in this new proposal that it revisited CEQA findings for this revised ordinance and saw no reason to change any of its findings. I strongly disagree with this assessment. With the new proposal the situation has gotten much worse. With the new proposal, enforcement and fines for any sign found out of compliance have been greatly increased with no respect for VARA or CAPA laws. Since murals of any sort are being defined simply as a type of sign, murals will be greatly affected. This is because most murals are very large ? and the new fine structure has greater fines for larger signs. With the new ordinance there will be more inspectors with greater resources going around citing signs that are out of compliance. Any fine art mural that did not get a permit from DCA will be cited as an illegal sign. If the mural is 300 square feet (which is a relatively small mural) it would be assessed with a $6,000 per day fine. Much more for larger murals- up to $12,000 a day for the first violation for a sign over 750 sq ft. Property owners and occupants within a 600-foot radius of a sign in violation of the sign regulations would also be allowed a ?private right of action? whereby they would have the right to bring civil action against and collect damages from the party cited. The only remedy to contest the citation would be an appeal ? which would cost $3,434 just to file. This sum would apparently not be returned even if the artist won the appeal. In fact, even those murals that were issued a DCA mural permit from 2002 to 2007 would be out of compliance and could be cited, as there is no language in this ordinance that would protect them.

Proper CEQA Findings
The proposed ordinance would jeopardize the existence of a large number of important fine art murals throughout the City of Los Angeles that were painted by important, well known and culturally significant artists. Many of these murals are larger than the maximum area allowed by the proposed ordinance and would therefore be considered illegal.

Many of these murals never received formal city permits, but are clearly protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. These murals are also protected by VARA and CAPA laws which require 90 days notice before a mural can be removed. In the past, citations for out-of-compliance signage (aka murals) have allowed only 10 days for compliance.

Just because a fine art mural did not get an actual permit does not effect whether it is a Cultural Resource or an important work of art. This is especially true since no permit for a fine art mural has been available since 2002 according to Planning.

The actual section of CEQA that covers this issue is as follows,
?CEQA - 15064.5. Determining the Significance of Impacts to Archeological and Historical Resources
(A) Is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of California's history and cultural heritage;
(B) Is associated with the lives of persons important in our past;
(C) Embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, region, or method of construction, or represents the work of an important creative individual, or possesses high artistic values;?

The CEQA Initial Study for this sign code should have stated that there could be ?Potentially Significant Impacts? in sections ?Ib and Ic? under ?Aesthetics? and in section ?Va? under ?Cultural Resources.? An Environmental Impact Report may be required for this ordinance.

Concessions this Round to all Parties Except Muralists
The revised Sign Ordinance proposal has made a large number of concessions that allow for more pervasive signage of many sorts, yet does not give up anything to muralists. There continues to be no definition of a mural. Any issue related to murals is pushed off, to be dealt with at a later date through the easement process modeled after Portland. This is a big mistake because murals need to be incorporated into the sign ordinance now as an important piece of this complex puzzle.

For example, Planning removed the 35 foot height restriction on signs. A sign just has to be below the building roofline. Now they are allowing large identification signs above 100 feet for high rises, and they have increased the amount of allowable on-premise signage from the 100 sq ft. maximum to a sliding scale based on the amount of linear street frontage. Pole Sign heights are increased. Restrictions on the SUD Sign Districts- which in the previous draft insisted that there be a minimum of 5 separate owners within a single Sign District and that the Sign District include a minimum of 10,000 linear feet of street frontage- have all been changed in a way that favors the large commercial sign companies ? but does nothing to open up these districts to fine art muralists.

Conclusion
In conclusion, I see no other option at this point then to rally all our resources to fight the passage of this proposed ordinance. All channels of influence must be utilized to force the Planning Department to reconsider their approach, and to recognize the value of murals to the cultural and economic life of this city.

Stash Maleski
Director
ICU Art - In Creative Unity
stash@icuart.com
http://www.icuart.com/

Please repost this, especially to people in Los Angeles!

Blast-wall murals in Baghdad

More news from Brazil

The update about Carolina and this tidbit of goodness are from Lost Art:

Mural SP II by Os Gemeos, Nina, Nunca, Finok, and Zefix
(scroll sideways)

Ash's new mural in Berlin

Merry Christmas paintings

I thought I'd share some of the Christmas pieces from my inbox this week.


Azerox, in China


Doodle Dubz, in the UK


Kafy, in Mexico

Berok and Chacon - underwater scene

Berok and Chacon, from Spain, painted this lovely 11 x 7 meter mural recently, which includes an amazing octopus. Lucky guys had a lift too.

Albus Cavus in DC

Jam at an intersection in Columbia Heights in Washington DC on Sunday, November 9, 2008.

Participating artists: Tim CON (DC), Decoy (DC), Billy Mode (MD), VJ (DC), Owel (DC), Gaia (MD), Leon Rainbow (NJ), Will Kasso (NJ), Demer (NJ), Peter Krsko (DC) - on flickr.

Bombing Beirut

Stone, graffiti pioneer from Germany, recently went to Beirut Lebanon to work with writers there. Previously you'll recall Stone organized two big events in Cuba with Os Gemeos, Won, Neon (Germany) and Cemnoz -- altogether more than 25 writers from Germany, Brazil, and Cuba.

Seattle gets lovely mural

NKO and Scratchmaster Joe have incorporated ghost signage into their crystalline, 100x65 ft mural on Monique Lofts between Pike and Pine streets on 11th Avenue, and the result is strikingly wonderful.

The mural is a collection of crystalline geometries; a site-specific, improvisational painting reacting to the architecture and vibrancy of the location it occupies. The mural seeks to represent the history of its surface through the preservation of raw concrete and ghost signage, while acknowledging contemporary urbanism through palette, form and materials.

Party in Rio - Rio Cruzeiro, a Favela Painting Project

Haas & Hahn proudly announce the inauguration of Rio Cruzeiro, a Favela Painting Project, on 17-19 October 2008

Rio Cruzeiro, an artwork by Jeroen Koolhaas and Dre Urhahn. A +2000 m2 painting of a japanese style river based on a design by master tattooist Rob Admiraal. Painted together with kids from the community of Vila Cruzeiro, the most infamous favela of Rio de Janeiro.

The weekend of the 17th - 19th of October will feature an opening party, photo exhibit and video installations in the center of Rio de Janeiro. On the 18th the painting will be unveiled, followed by a huge blockparty. There will be photo opportunities for the press, guided tours through the community and the whole day will be planned in cooperation with the IBISS Community Center.

Join the Celebration! A once in a lifetime experience to visit this favela and the Favela Painting Project! Book your flights to Rio now!

Those of us who can't fly in for the party can drop them a note on their blog to congratulate these brave and hardworking artists.

Plutonium G paint

New paint available in the US, UK, NL, AU, NZ. Have not seen it, but it's meant for art. If you try some, let us know how it works with your caps and projects, please.

Rough videos

Rough at Tate Modern - UK history


Stormie and Rough brighten up Perth Australia

TATS Cru sues over mural removal in NYC

Another shameful moment for Rev. Al Sharpton.

Only unpopular speech needs free-speech protections. This legally done mural on private property was censored by people who didn't agree with it. And that's just not the way we do things in the USA.

The "Stop Snitchin'" mural, painted on the side of an East Harlem bodega with the permission of the building's owner in 2006, featured a rat with a noose around its neck and the phrase that police say has left many of the city's crimes unsolved.

In July, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, the Rev. Al Sharpton and others painted over the mural and invited the media to watch, charging that the mural hampers the justice system and promotes violence.

The Hunts Point-based Tats Cru, which has turned its street graffiti into a worldwide commercial enterprise, says the city's action has violated its right to free speech.

Stacey Richman, the group's lawyer, says city officials violated federal defamation and slander laws by painting over the mural.
"If you or I or anyone else did this, we would be arrested for criminal mischief," Richman said. "It was not about endorsing a negative connotation. It was about getting discussion going."

The mural destruction mob claimed the owner said they could erase it. TATS representatives say the owner was threatened with fines if he did not agree. Perhaps they will get another demonstration of the Streisand Effect for their trouble.

Estria interview

There's a great interview with Estria (San Francisco) in Nichi Bei Times.

See his paintings at estria.net and screenprinting at SamuraiGraphix.

ESPO paints in Ireland

The New York Times just published an article about ESPO, who received a Fulbright scholarship to paint in Northern Ireland.
See the article for the slide show too.

Congratulations, Steve!

Erik DeBat "Risk" - Chicago - Time-lapse mural

Toronto declares legal mural not art, must go

This is absurd. If graffiti is defined as illegal marking, then legally done artwork is the obvious alternative. There's always so much shouting about permission (or purchase) being the salient difference. A commissioned mural is just that.

To instead censor work based on an aesthetic, a tool, lettering content, or (dare we say it) ethnicity or socio-economic status of the artists (real or imagined) is so Dark Ages.

Luckily, you can comment about this at the Toronto Sun (comment form is hidden under the talk back image).

Favela Painting - Brazil

'Favela Painting: Rio Cruzeiro?, is a 2000m2 painting of a river in traditional Japanese style running through Vila Cruzeiro, one of the most notorious slums in Rio de Janeiro. The design was made in collaboration with the Amsterdam based tattoo artist Rob Admiraal. When we are not hiding from gunbattles between the local drug gang and the police, we are working on the insanely huge painting together with a group of local youths. Depending on the weather and the political situation we hope to finish the painting within the next couple of months.

We just came back from a short trip to Holland during which we did several interviews and appeared on television twice. First during a 35 minute documentary about our Favela Painting project and later on a very popular breakfast show. On our flight back, flying over Rio, we were surprised to see our new painting clearly from the skies.

After completing the painting we are going to work on our traveling exhibition about the project. To learn more about the project or to find out how you can contribute, check our website www.favelapainting.com with tons of new information, images and video?s.

Greetings from Rio de Janeiro,
Jeroen Koolhaas & Dre Urhahn

The Gateway project: Crol and Werk with Victor Ochoa

Retna, Dame, and Werc

Sacred text

Slick/Dissizit in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles - time-lapse video

Detroit murals and graffiti

We haven't seen much Detroit artwork on the Web so far, but here is a nice sampling. Here's a tasty one:

Trompe L'oeil Murals

trompe l'oeil |?trômp ?loi| noun ( pl. trompe l'oeils pronunc. same)
visual illusion in art, esp. as used to trick the eye into perceiving a painted detail as a three-dimensional object.

? a painting or design intended to create such an illusion.

ORIGIN French, literally ?deceives the eye.?

Thanks to Harold Naideau for the tip!

Graffiti Murals by Kamal Dollah for Telok Ayer Performing Arts Centre, Singapore

These guys got some great walls in Singapore and made wonderful murals on them.

Full article with in-progress shots.

Os Gemeos, Nina and Nunca paint castle in Scotland

What a fun project!

Australian Pratt vandalizes mural, refuses to pay for it

Here's another story that points out how this zealous, self-aggrandizing defacement of a graffiti art commissioned mural was actually vandalism. And of course, vandalism is NOT ABOUT WHO DOES IT, right? Rich white guys? Government grandstanders?

If the graffiti argument is *really* about legal placement vs illegal defacement, this guy should be charged -- just like he so badly wants to charge the people he doesn't like for doing the same thing.

Think, people, think.

"The original picture allegedly removed by Mr Pratt who is the Deputy Speaker of the ACT Assembly was painted by a local graffiti artist affectionately known as "Dan the man" and featured a man playing disc or frisbee golf.

"They want me to replace it, I'm not going to," Mr Pratt said. Disc ACT secretary Greg Sparksman said the club was extremely annoyed by Mr Pratt's actions and his unwillingness to apologise.

"We believed he vandalised our legal artwork of disc golf," Mr Sparksman said.

"He didn't apologise we have asked for $3000 and an apology and he's not prepared to do it."

Writers demonstrated, calling for him to be punished alike.

RIP Ayer by Revok, time lapse

The first of many such delights promised by The Seventh Letter and Known Gallery.

(That's Persue's Bunnykitty character being painted over in case you're curious.)

Brave and Reakt paint in prison: UK

Palestinian Mural at San Francisco University in danger

Sign the online petition to help save it.

Favela painting in Rio de Janiero

"We would like to be back in Rio around July to make more and bigger paintings, invite other artists to join to help turn the slums into beautiful places filled with art. If you feel like helping out in any way, we would be more than grateful.

We are currently looking for sponsors to adopt the project, both financially as with material. We work together with the Ibiss foundation, which has full NGO-status. But also private donations are more than welcome, please check out our website to learn more about supporting the Favelapainting project."

Alter State Mural

Done recently for a show in San Francisco with Sundance, Sirron Norris,Nate Erlin, Ricardo Richey, Joe Ader, Ezra Li Eismont, Nome, Edonna, Tip, Scatha G. Allison, Peripheral Media Projects and probably others.

What to do with those troubly tunnels

Spike, Sumo, Sticks, Frank, Joel, Franky - Luxembourg

New legal wall in Louisville Kentucky USA

Congratulations to local artists Jeral Tidwell and Sean Griffin for hooking up such a great wall. He wants writers to paint on it anytime. (Maybe let his own first mural run for a minute though, right? Tip: it has roses and a traditional tattoo influence, very nicely done.)

Location: "The underpass of Interstate 65 on East Market Street, between Hancock and Jackson Streets. Sponsoring this project is the Mayor's Committee on Public Art (MCOPA), with support from the East Downtown Business Association.

"Louisville will be among many European and other American cities that provide a venue for an urban art form. Seattle, New York City, Minneapolis, San Diego and Philadelphia have similar programs.

"Rules include painting within the designated area; keeping the sidewalk free of paint and passable at all times; no advertisements; and no inappropriate work. Inappropriate work will be covered. Artists Tidwell and Sean Griffin have agreed to monitor the wall, visiting periodically to make sure that all work is appropriate."

Time Out for Lady Pink