Graffiti, Marker & Spray Cans

Remember that fantastic mural by Spanish-born twins How & Nosm in Los Angeles from last month? Recently the Vandalog crew discovered some more flipping How & Nosm walls in New York Cities South Bronx! Another great thing about one of those dope murals is that it’s probably a collaboration with Aryz, who in my eyes is one of the most famous European urban artists at the moment… My advice: Take a look and simply be impressed! ...

Supported by Obey, Russian graffiti crew CHO is going to publish their first film! Entitle Комендантский Час (what simply means curfew), the video report includes great bombing, painting, pasting and running action mainly filmed during their trips to and in Spain, France and Russia… Watching the trailer with its nice footage whetted my appetite, for what reason I’m waiting eagerly for the release on December 1st. I’m pretty sure it’s getting huge, but as long as you’re waiting together with me, you should probably check out some other great graffiti action videos, like the 1UP subway graffiti action or the Copenhagen Trains documentary. ...

It’s the last day in this year’s October and although it’s still sunny (at least in Berlin) the dark and cold season is coming closer and closer. For that reason I’d like to give you the chance to grab some good reading before you’re getting bored while staying inside all day long by recommending you the latest urban art books and magazines I got so far… To do that in a somehow structured way, I collected a stack of urban art related publications by different publishers which I’ll introduce to you one after another during the first half of November. And to extend this Urban Art Books & Mags Special and to bring joy to some of you I will also give away some of the presented printed works. So make sure to check out the upcoming book and magazine reviews! ...

As I mentioned in the latest Urban Art Link-Tips, famous writer Smash 137 opened - after that really nice Berlin show in 2009 - a new exhibition entitled Grow up! last Saturday in Paris… Grow up! That is the phrase Smash137 heard so often from the mouths of his parents, from the girls he loved, and from some of his friends when he was going out to paint, his backpack bursting with spray paint. Today, things have changed a bit… (Galerie Celal) ...

Copenhagen Trains: Vandal Tactics is a brand-new and interesting documentary about danish graffiti in general and the local train writing scene specifically. By presenting nice underground impressions, this 55 minutes short-movie mainly features train graffiti actions which took place between 1997 and 2007 in the Danish capital… Live actions, heavy bombing, mind blowing color productions, top to bottom throw ups, all on those infamous red steel trains that was an object of desire for generations of writers worldwide. ...

Although some friend from London recently told me that this year’s Meeting of Styles wasn’t as wicked as last year’s, on the hundreds of photos you can find online it looks like a big and crazy outdoor party! This annual British edition of the international Meeting of Styles event brings together some of the most talented graffiti artists from all over Europe and has grown from 15 artists and one main wall in its first year to a full scale outdoor block party and street exhibition in 2010 and 2011, including 60 handpicked graffiti artists painting walls, canvases, and boards throughout the day to a backdrop of hip-hop, reggae, ska and more… ...

Last Ride is the name of an interesting installation-painting by Portuguese urban artist Mr. Dheo, addressing car crashes with lethal consequences. Documented in an disturbing video Dheo explains the intention which brought him to paint this piece on a scrap yard… As an autodidact, Dheo’s first contact with graffiti appeared in the age of fifteen and soon his drawings turned into countless letter studies. Months later he did his first street painting and started to meet other artists to whom he related and that motivated him to carry on. ...

As I already mentioned, famous French graffiti crew Da Mental Vaporz (DMV) has been busy in the last days painting a new huge wall in the beautiful city of Brest where the urban art festival Crimes of Minds is running since March! Recently Blo, Sowat, Dran, Bom.k and the rest of DMV finished spray-painting their new mural and because French photographer Awouell was around, I’m able to present you some first photos of the final piece. ...

In July 2011, a first-of-its-kind public art mural project called Visual Intervention took place in Rochester, NY bringing together local artists and a group of four artists from Cape Town, SA, including Faith47, DAL, Mak1 and FreddySam who shared their talents and painted several nice murals in hopes of inspiring the Rochester community… Finally, the corresponding documentary was published last week which I don’t want to deforce from you. It gives a nice insight into the entire project, and includes not just statements by the artists and organizers, but also explains the event’s reasons and how everything worked out in the end. ...

da mental vaporz mural After my friend Blo created this great new mural in Berlin, he directly went to Brest to catch up with Sowat, Dran, Bom.k and the rest of Da Mental Vaporz (DMV) crew! Together they recently started to paint this massive collaboration mural as a part of the French urban art event Crimes of Minds, which is already running for nearly half a year and brought together urban artists from all over Europe such as Morten Andersen</strong, FinDAC and Sly2, Best Ever and Ben Slow, and many more! ...