Art in the Streets - MOCA Museum - Tuca Cassino´s Suggestion

Moca Museum

Art in the Streets is the first major U.S. museum survey of graffiti and street art that takes place at MOCA (link). The exhibition will trace the development of graffiti and street art from the 1970s to the global movement it has become today, concentrating on important cities as New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, and Sao Paulo.


"The exhibition will feature paintings, mixed media sculptures, and interactive installations by 50 of the most dynamic artists and will emphasize Los Angeles's role in the evolution of graffiti and street art, with special sections dedicated to seminal local movements such as cholo graffiti and Dogtown skateboard culture. A comprehensive timeline illustrated with artwork, photos, video, and ephemera will provide a historical context for the work."
Check out some videos:
Painters Painting




Artists Lee Quinones, Abel, Cern, FUTURA, Loomit, Push, RISK and Sano document the creation of their monumental artwork Birds Of A Feather (2011).

Created for Art in the Streets at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, April 17–August 8, 2011. Video produced by MOCA in collaboration with TEAM G.

Brazilian Os Gemeos Comes Alive


Musician Andrew Black playing the drums inside of Os Gemeos’ installation at Art in The Streets.
Martha Cooper as Art in The Streets Comes Together


VNA x Martha Cooper at MOCA from Charlie Inman on Vimeo.

Charlie Inman and Very Nearly Always made this short piece on photographer Martha Cooper, shot during the install of Art in The Streets. In it, she speaks on her history of documenting the graffiti artists featured in the exhibition.

Kenny Scharf painting at Art in The Streets. Photo by Gregory Bojorquez

Photographer Gregory Bojorquez was on site for seven weeks at the Geffen Contemporary while Art in The Streets came to life. While there, he documented the beauty and hard work brought to the show by artists from around the globe. Enjoy this set of photos capturing the creative process of Barry McGee, SWOON, Os Gemeos, ROA, Invader, Kenny Scharf, and more.
Here are some awesome pictures from the backstage:

Chaz running in a backstreet near Whittier Blvd in East Los Angeles, 1974, photo by Gusmano Cesaretti.

Wild Style mural by Zephyr, Revolt, Sharp. front row: Doze, Frosty Freeze, Ken Swift; middle row: Patti Astor, Fred Brathwaite, Lady Pink; back row: Lil Crazy Legs, Revolt and Sharp; directed by Charlie Ahearn, photo by Martha Cooper.

1983

Os Gemeos

Captured by MOCAs Security Cams




I hope you like this tip and enjoy the exhibition !


* This post was Tuca Cassino's suggestion. Tuca Cassino is an Art Teacher in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Let them talk - Blues CD by Hugh Laurie

Photo: Reuters

Hugh Laurie's debut album, 'Let Them Talk', is out now in the UK. 

Dr. House sings!!

“Let Them Talk” is the first album to be recorded by Hugh Laurie after signing to Warner Bros Records in 2010. Produced by Joe Henry and recorded in Los Angeles and New Orleans, the album is a celebration of New Orleans blues, a genre that drives Hugh’s musical raison d’être.

Spiritually inspired by similar genre albums like Ry Cooder’s ‘Buena Vista Social Club’ and T-Bone Burnett’s ‘O’ Brother Where Art Thou’ soundtrack, Hugh’s ‘Let Them Talk’ recordings bring together an extraordinary selection of heritage tracks, renowned musicians and vocal legends to champion this much neglected body of work.

Hugh drives the whole album on piano and vocals and is joined in the studio by the ‘Queen of New Orleans’ herself, Irma Thomas, blues piano and horns supremo Allen Toussaint, vocal legend Sir Tom Jones and in an especially momentous collaboration on ‘After You’ve Gone’ by his lifelong hero Dr. John.

Released on May 9th in Europe, the album launch will be supported by live shows in London, Paris and Berlin and a television special following Hugh’s musical journey to New Orleans and featuring the performances of much of the album filmed at Kingsway Studios in the French Quarter along with Hugh’s band and his incredible collaborators. 

FREE DOWNLOAD OF Guess I am a fool HERE!

Hugh Laurie's participation on  Hang Cool Teddy Bear with Meat Loaf

Hugh Laurie performs "The Sophisticated Song" (written, I believe, with Stephen Fry). 

And this is a finding!! 

And I am still laughing...

Hahahhahahaa

LYRICS
Oh, little girl!
Would you like a sweetie?
Would you put your hand in mine?
I promise not to hurt you
Or impinge upon your virtue
All I want is half a second of your time.

Oh, little girl!
Won't you smile into the camera?
This time I know we'll get the perfect shot.
Now do you think that it would hurt
If you just undid your shirt
And show the readers everything you've got?

Little girl,
You really mustn't worry,
No one will respect you any less.
When all is said and done
You know it's just a bit of fun
Now be a sport, take off that pretty dress.

Little girl,
Can't you see now you are famous!
Your name is on the nation's lips.
Over breakfast, they'll admire you,
At their lunch hour, they'll desire you,
And at tea time, you'll be wrapping up their chips!

Little girl,
Congratulations on your record!
They played it on the wireless just today.
It was fast and rather naughty,
Went straight in at number forty,
Though the DJ said that's where it ought to stay.

Little girl,
So you got married to a popstar!
I can hardly work my camera for the tears.
But as you said your fond goodbyes,
I got a great one of your thighs!
What a shame you were divorced within a year.

Little girl,
You're not a girl and you're not little.
But there's still one thing I'd love it if you'd do:
Although she's slightly shorter,
I would love to meet your daughter.
Do you think that she would like to follow you?
Do you think that she would like to follow you?

iTunes: http://bit.ly/lIS8uh
Amazon: http://amzn.to/kQjTdZ
Play: http://bit.ly/mm70To
HMV: http://bit.ly/lHrKSH
Official Webstore: http://bit.ly/egyame

Official website: http://www.hughlaurieblues.com/

La Historia de Mano de Pincel - (The Brush Hand Boy) by Punkarlos

Esta es la historia de Manos de Pincel, una propuesta hecha por "alternativas academicas", creo que no hace falta mucha presentación, asi que aqui va el interesante y excelente cortometraje:

Una noche oscura y cerca de las 10
un evento en la casa del juez
del segundo piso se escucho ese llanto
de aquel niño que habian esperado tanto
es un varon!, grito alegre su padre
besando la frente de la exsausta madre
la tradicion familiar tu vas a seguir
pero el destino otra cosa tenia que decir,
siguio la fortuna su destino cruel
la mano del niño era de pìncel.

Una tarde de viernes tomado aire fresco
pincel salio al mundo
con ... fin el cerco
en la sopa de letras undio sus pinceles
y vio el placer de colorear manteles,
se dan cuenta nuestros invitados
que el niño improvisa corseles alados
feliz cumpleaños dijo el juez amigo
¿que abra dentro de este moño tan prolijo?
quien iva a pensar
contra toda hipotesis
que en la caja venia una protesis
Leia en el parque ya con 17
cuando un lepidoptero muy impertinente
lo llevo al encuentro de una enorme lente Pincel aun flotando en su dulce aventura conjura un encuentro en dizfras de axidente el rayo golpea al adolesente lo invade una extraña clase de locura y sin prosesarlo
se arranca el martillo y estallan los rojos y los amarillos pero aquella calma fue un breve interludio
el juez desplego el alegato en su estudio pequeño incorrecto despresias mi afecto con tal mala suerte que impacto al insecto pincel setrago el derrumbe de su anelo llevandose consigo el retrato de su abuelo
y rumiando su propio caos existencial
hasta su ventana alguien envio la señal
un grupo de hormigas con alternativas
y al sumerguir su nariz en el papel
descubrio que habian cientos como el
manos de bisturi, de calculadora, de pluma, de telescopio, de bandeja doradora donde estudiar, los puntajes, en la tele habian reportajes, en la web habian ejercicios parecia que se habia roto por completo el malefisio
junto sus pinturas y ataco la tela
dispuesto a cambiar la historia familiar de punta a ... de oleo y de acuarela una noche clara, cerca de las 10 era el gran evento en la casadel juez todos celebraban al nuevo graduado
tambien el abuelo muy bien embarcado.

18 Tips To Be The Great Artist Of Your Dreams by Daniel Tardent at Art Maketing Secrets

Pietá by Michelangelo

"This morning I was pondering the many important elements required to make a successful artist. It’s exhilarating – or completely daunting – depending on whether you are in a “glass is half full” or “empty” frame of mind. One thing for sure, if you can achieve a measure of creative and financial success as an artist you can truly say that you have mastered something great in your lifetime – really!

Having said that though, have you thought recently about the level of mastery required to be successful in other professions? Any Olympic medalist has probably been completely married to their sport for decades. They’ve been up every morning at 4am heading off to the pool or the track for 3 hours training before the rest of their day started and on most days they do that for several hours before sleep as well.

A very successful business-person may be no different. They’ve spent many years and $$ at business school then very likely worked 12-15 hour days for years before tasting the champagne of their success. And they did that without any guarantee of success at all. They most probably did it because they loved it.

What’s my point here? I often hear artists commenting about how hard it is to be successful. While I know that it is true, a part of me is always thinking, “Yeah, but if you approached your art career as an Olympic athlete in training, have you really done everything as well as you possibly could? Have you been up at 4am every day painting? Have you marketed your work for 2 hours every day? Have you studied the work of masters every day? Have you really gone for the gold medal?”

Have you? Have you really gone for the gold EVERY DAY?

Well – the truth is that you can’t do it every day – no one can. Everyone needs rest periods and vacations. Heck – I spent most of my life in Australia and we Aussies know more about the importance of rest than anyone:)

But you can do it most days – and that is what you need to do to be very successful.

With that in mind, I brainstormed with myself and came up with 18 tips to make success as an artist an absolute certainty. I’m not saying they’re all possible for you in your life – but if you were able to achieve 50% of each one or 9 out 18, you would be way, way ahead with a successful artistic lifetime. I had fun with these – so please let me know your comments…

1. Choose a family that nurtures or challenges your artistic spirit and talent. This is an interesting point that encompases your spiritual viewpoint on life. Some people believe that we choose our parents. Others believe that our parents choose us. Others, still think its a completely random statistical thing.
2. Read great literature every day. The works of literary masters can unlock the creative potential in your being in a way that nothing else can. This is one of the keys to opening up the gates of your inner creativity so that you can find your truly authentic artistic voice.
3. Listen to classical music while you work – especially Mozart. Classical music will help you to open the creative centers of your being in a way that other music styles cannot.
4. 
   
5. Exercise your body and spend time in nature every week. You are a whole person – spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical. All of you needs to be exercised and integrated for optimum success as an artist. Be a renaissance person.
6. Don’t watch television. I know this will get a reaction but it’s very important. OK – you can maybe watch your favorite program for an hour but nothing more than that. And mute the sound when the add breaks come on. Television can break down your connection to your creativity and individuality.
7. 
   
8. Don’t spend a lot of time on the internet. I know this is an oxymoron because you have to be online to be reading this! Be aware though that the internet can affect you in much the same way as television and it can also be a huge time-waster.
9. Study with masters and become a great artist. A great artist has inspiration, talent, uniqueness of vision, and absolute mastery of their medium. It’s not about pretty – its about originality and a way of seeing life.
10. Be honest with yourself. You need to assess if you really have what it takes to be a commercially successful artist. Only you can determine this. If you don’t have the talent and persistence needed you won’t be successful – big dreams alone cannot take you there.
11. Make a deal with your spouse or partner or family to give you 5 years to focus 100% on your art.

1. Work on your art as hard as Michelangelo did. Right now, go and buy a copy of “The Agony And The Ecstasy”. It is a fantastic read and it will show you what hard work and dedication as an artist means! Paint or sculpt or photograph – do whatever you do for at least 4 hours every day.
2. 
   
3. Have a stunning online gallery of your work. This is what everyone in the universe is going to see when they get their first impression of you and your art. If it looks less that 100% great everything you’ve done before this and everything you will do after this are pretty much wasted effort. Do you realize how important this is? Think about that when someone tells you that its not worth spending thousands of dollars on an artist website.
4. 
   
5. Attend a major art event every week, speak with at least 10 people, and give each one of them your business card with your website address. Invite them all to YOUR next event.
6. 
   
7. Hold an Open Studio every month. Advertise in local publications. Invite local arts professionals Send out email invitations to all your email list – even if they are thousands of miles away. You want to demonstrate that there is “something happening” with your art career. Nothing compares with a physical showing of your work involving real people! A little food and some nice wine together with your art will create an environment for selling your work.
8. Every year, buy a copy of the Art In America Gallery Guide and make a list of 600 galleries that appear to show work similar in style to yours. And yes – we know that everyone says the gallery system is dying – but the right galleries can still play a major role in your success.
9. 
   
10. Every month, send out 50 letters (yes – we mean snail-mail letters) of introduction with a postcard of a very strong piece of your work and an invitation to visit and review your website.
11. Commit to a major gallery or art-center showing of your work twice a year and make it happen no matter what. Plan 6 months in advance for each show and make it perfect – curating, framing, catering, assistance, etc. Invite everyone as for your Open Studios. Get advance press coverage for every show.
12. 
    
13. Answer every request for information, every email, every response to your mailouts, every phonecall to your artist studio – as if the sender or caller might be wanting to spend $25 Million on your art.
14. Like Buzz Lightyear once said, “Never give up, Never surrender!”

The best things in life come from inspired persistence. Does this article give you an idea of the level of effort and commitment you COULD have to your work? If it took that much effort would you still do it?

Michelangelo did. Van Gogh did. Other great artists did. Thats why we remember them as “great”. Are you a great artist? Do you want to be one? If you do you’ll have to make a “great” commitment to the journey."

That´s a good tip for a young artist!

The Future by Miranda July

THE FUTURE tells the story of a thirty-something couple who, on deciding to adopt a stray cat, change their perspective on life, literally altering the course of time and testing their faith in each other and themselves.

...

Miranda July’s The Future, the follow-up to her successful 2005 film Me and You and Everyone We Know, may seem obnoxiously strange if you were to take some of its outlandish plot points out of context.  The story features time-stopping, conversations with the moon, and a shirt that can move on its own.  Oh, and the film is narrated by a cat waiting to be adopted.  These fantastical elements are balanced by July’s skill to find humor in the mundane and ability to cleverly express a couple’s fear that their dreams are dead and their future has already been written.  It’s not a comedy for everyone, but those who can appreciate July’s brand of offbeat humor will findThe Future a rewarding experience.

Sophie (July) and Jason (Hamish Linklater) have been together for several years but their lives are starting to drift into an odd malaise.  The couple decides to adopt Paw-Paw (the film’s narrator/symbol), a shelter cat, in a month after he’s healed up, and they see that as the beginning of the end for any dreams they may have had.  As Jason notes, “35 is only five years from 40 and 40 is the new 50 and anything after that is just loose change.”  “Loose change?” Sophie asks.  “Yeah,” says Jason. “Not enough to get you anything you want.”  Faced with the transition hurtling towards their relationship, Jason and Sophie resolve to follow their ambition for the next thirty days.  Jason quits his job doing tech support and picks up door-to-door volunteer work trying to sell new trees to the people of Los Angeles.  Sophie wants to do 30 different dances over the next 30 days and put them on YouTube as part of an art project.

There’s no real way for me to communicate July’s humor because it’s so different from every other comedic style that’s out there.  It’s an odd mixture of deadpan, silliness, and detachment.  The tone will certainly leave some people cold, but if you think her delivery of a line like, “I want to watch the news more but I’m so far behind…” is hilarious (as I do), then this may be the kind of movie for you.  It’s also a tricky balancing act since July and Linklater have to create relatable characters who sometimes behave like space aliens.  For instance, at one point in the movie, Sophie is talking to a man on the phone and they realize they’re both facing in the same direction.  Sophie decides to shout out the window to see if the man lives nearby.  That kind of behavior works within the tonal context of the picture, but some may find it too unbelievable to ever connect with anyone in the movie.

But what makes The Future a more fulfilling experience than July’s amusing idiosyncrasies is that the film effectively taps into our feelings about the momentum of our lives.  The story positions Paw-Paw as a symbol of a future we’re afraid to reach out in grab because it’s not perfect but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth loving.  July cleverly bends reality in order to make her observation that sometimes we want to keep everything frozen in time so we don’t have to face a scary future, but time will simply move on without us.  I’m not exactly sure why a moon has to be a part of that conversation (perhaps because it represents time’s ebb and flow), but a talking, “floating rock in the sky” doesn’t seem out of placed in July’s beautifully bizarre movie.

The Future is a lovely little film that’s a creatively fulfilling step forward for July.  Linklater holds his own against her delightful quirks and their relationship feels lived-in and real despite their quizzical worldview.  The Future isn’t for everyone and I’m glad because that’s part of what makes it special.

* This review was written by Matt Goldberg at http://collider.com/author/matt-goldberg/

Brazilian Collage Artist - Anderson Thives

INTERVIEW 

with Brazilian Collage Artist

ANDERSON THIVES

Anderson Thives's art gallery at Cassino Atlantico

Anderson Thives's Website

What was the exact moment when you decided to be an artist or you realized the fact that you are an artist?

I feel that the decision to “become” something for forever is always good, but the majority of the time I think that we already know from a very young age our real vocation. It was that way for me. I remember that very young, my passion already was for collages. While my colleagues painted and drew, I glued together everything that I saw. Including the walls of my house. This way, life took me to my “destined” vocation.  

In this process, who was your great mentor or master and why?

In reality, I didn’t have one. I always had “references” in the way of artistic movements and artists with whom I identified myself more. It was this that led me to Contemporary Pop. But when I wanted to dive deeper into collages, I lacked references. I latched onto Pop Art and the artists like Andy Warhol and Picasso. Why? In this case, more for the aesthetics than the ideology. 

"Garota do Rio"

What were the things that challenged and scared you the most to have your life devoted to art in a country like Brazil?

It is to kill “two” lions per day. To live to sell canvas, it is to live the “superfluous”. That people don’t necessarily need, but buy for other motives. But at the same time it is to live with the largest happiness in the world to be free to do absolutely anything that you like.

Brazilian MPB Singer Emanuele Araujo portraited by Anderson.

What was a great artistic failure or deception you’ve already had in your life? How did you face it or overcome it?

There were various, I’ve already received many nos from galleries that always though I was “raw”, or not prepared. But every “no” was important for me to turn into the professional that I am today. Focusing on the work and the objectives. With the opening of my gallery, these galleries from the past, are today my colleagues. 

What was your best conquest until now?

I have many. My career in Europe, it was unassuming and at the same time relevant to my visibility in Brazil. The opening of my own gallery at the Cassino Atlantico. The branch I will open in New York. Each day is a conquest. Every day is a celebration. 

Anderson at his atelier

How did you discover collaging?

When I was very young and I don’t remember exactly how the “passion” for the technique began. I know in college I started my hobby to do collages because I wanted to be “different” from my classmates, and I wanted to do what I knew best. In referential terms, one was Richard Hamilton. It is different from what I do, but the pop aesthetic is very relevant.  

How much time do you spend per piece?

There are canvas that take longer, others less time. But the average is” 4 days. (There are canvas that take longer than others, but on average: 4 days) 

Do you perceive that the constrution of the canvas in the table, tone of color, texture, framing (etc) are very similar to the originals (ex. Van Gogh)? What is the intent of this reading? Did you mean for that? (What did you want?)

For some of the readings, there is the worry to not be “bad”. Someone that looks and says: “but the original is a lot better”. It’s not that I want to be better, but I want my technique to have a result of quality. In other cases, the reading is different. I play more without worrying about the similarities. 

Do you listen to music while you work on your collages? (If so) What type of music? What singer, (or) band?

I listen to a little of everything. But the majority of the time it is French music like Piaf, for example, which I love. And others like the Syrian-Lebanese singer Mika. With whom I am a fan and ended up being my client.

You are also an actor, set designer and costume designer. How do you divide you time and organize your priorities?

I’ve already retired from the other professions. Acting was a hobby for a long time, as I was always a set designer; I ended up falling in love with the projects and ended up doing everything. The costumes came with “selfishness”. Being a set designer, I always thought that one thing complimented the other. That the aesthetic was only one. So, I only accepted to do the set design if I could do the costumes also. I am a big perfectionist, so this worry to align the two always existed. But for eight years now, I have opted for only visual arts. 

What will be the next theme for your collection of collages?

I just inaugurated “Cool’ Art”, which are portraits of only porn magazine cartoons. And I’m in the process of “Ten-Glued”, which I will do in London the second semester. One series of ten works the actual size of humans types, in which works of renowned portrait have been “detached” from its orgininal form and comes to life. I’m having fun. 

What are the three best books you have ever read?

There are various. I like biographies a lot because I am curious and learn a lot from people. But I like the last one I read: “The Boy With the Striped Pajamas”. The story is emotional and the lesson as well. 

What would you cry out if you where the last red jelly bean in the package?

The yellow is more delicious!

What is your motto of life?

It is cliche, but is LOVE! Love everything and everyone. Donate yourself! Love what you are doing, even if it is temporary and won’t last forever. Love is our daily fuel.

As this is an artistic reference blog, give us your artistic references, your tips.

I can’t get away from my pop artist roots. Haha...

ANDY WARHOL

TOM WESSELMANN

RICHARD HAMILTON

Website: http://www.andersonthives.com/