Manifest Destiny Billboard Project

 Hypoallergic reports a fascinating national project that hints of a massive rollout of street art in an ususual and novel way.

A few months ago, five national museums and the Outdoor Advertising Association of America announced Art Everywhere, a massive exhibition that will bring reproductions of artworks to advertising spaces around the country in August, decided via a public vote. “Billboards are the last bastion of the icon,” artist Zoe Crosher says, “because they work so fast. The images have to be fast, dirty, quick, and really loud.” 

But what if you tried to give the people something different, something they may not even know they want? What if you put commissioned works of contemporary art on billboards?

That’s the idea behind Crosher’s The Manifest Destiny Billboard Project, produced by public art organization LAND (Los Angeles Nomadic Division). Crosher and LAND Director Shamim M. Momin, co-curators of the project, have chosen 10 artists to create roughly 10 billboard artworks each at 10 locations along Interstate 10. I-10 is the southernmost transcontinental highway in the US, running from Jacksonville, Florida, to Santa Monica, California. Beginning last fall and continuing through next spring, the billboards are unfolding along the highway in sequential chapters from east to west, tracing the path of many a contemporary road trip and the footprint of many a 19th-century settler.

The art is rolled out in chapters - four so far going across the US. Unfortunately, the Manifest Destiny Billboard Project is barely trackable: very few people will see them all, and those that to see any of them may not even know they’re art. This is, in Momin’s words, “the challenge of trying to work in a truly nomadic fashion and truly public way.” Descriptions and photographs — in addition to a Manifest Destiny Billboard Perfume that Crosher’s made with the help of the Institute for Art and Olfaction (scents included: car, whiskey, dust, jasmine, and musk) — are most of what the project leaves behind. But “in some way it almost doesn’t matter,” Crosher says. The billboards “exist in the imaginary. You know that they’re unfolding.” And if you’re lucky, you’ll get to see one along the way.

The next chapter of The Manifest Destiny Billboard Project, Eve Fowler: it is so, it is so, opened last week - June 21 - at The Brandon (1709 Westheimer Road) in Houston, Texas.

Logan Hicks Lauches the ART History Mural Project

Friends of the Miami Marine Stadium are pleased to present the ART History Mural Project, which will bring contemporary street artists to the historical stadium to create site-specific murals over the course of 2014. Supported by FMMS, the project is curated by renowned stencil artist and muralist, Logan Hicks, who has invited a roster of international artists to legally paint within the legendary walls.  The first round of artists will commence on June 28^th, including Doze Green, Elbow Toe, Evoca1, Ian Kuali’I, Joe Iurato, Luis Berros, RISK and Rone. Although closed to the public, these incredible murals will be presented through extensive documentation, as well as an archival print release. Proceeds from the print release, which will be sold through ARTHistory2014.com, will directly support the Miami Marine Stadium’s $30 million renovation project

Stalking the Wild Street Art in Bushwick and East Williamsburg

I gave a tour today in Bushwick and East Williamsburg called "Stalking the WIld Street Art". Arranged by Sheila Paige for her computer camp colleagues, we started out at 5 Points in Bushwick and walked west to the Morgan Street area and then the Meserole area.

Here is a video and some photos will be posted in a separate update:

 

3D iPhone App Can Change the Concept of Art

Look at this video of a 3D app on an iPhone and just imagine what kind of art you can create with it. My mind is racing:

 

 

Street Art in Kabul

Despite decades of conflict in Afghanistan, the country's capital city of Kabul is home to a vibrant youth scene, a handful of sleek shopping malls, cafes, and more. Reuters photographer Morteza Nikoubazl recently set out to document modern Kabul, populated by musicians, artists, athletes, and activists who are trying to live 21st-century lives in spite of massive infrastructure problems and the ever-present threat of militant attacks. Afghanistan is preparing for an election on April 5 that should mark the first democratic transfer of power in the country's history, but it has been hit by a tide of violence as the Taliban has ordered its fighters to disrupt the vote and threatened to kill anyone who participates. Many of the people in these images were happy to be photographed, but did not want to give their names. This photo essay is part of the ongoing series here on Afghanistan. [26 photos]