Build Your Own Graffiti Drone

Drones that can be used to spray street art? I love it.

This from Hyperallergic - Artist Katsu has been working hard at extending the language of public mark making, and his latest experiments have been drone-based. Long known for his distinctive, large-scale fire extinguisher tags that trail across whole walls, his spray-painting flying machines are the latest evolution of his interest in “things that can make marks,” he tells Hyperallergic.

Icarus One (via icarusone.com)

Named after the Greek mythological figure who flew too close to the sun with wings made of feathers and wax, Icarus One is the “world’s first open-source paint drone.” A page of instructions on the project’s website offers schematics to 3D-print your own parts, links to places to buy necessary elements, and even the option to buy one fully assembled.

The artist most recently used his specially designed drone to paint a “dronescape” at Coney Art Walls in Brooklyn’s Coney Island neighborhood. The result is a simple and moody landscape on a handball wall that consists of a lightly dusted blue sky and hazy green hills. “The series of paintings I am making now reflects this very short period of time before drones are able to paint like printers,” he says. “It’s the beauty in simplicity and crudeness. Like the beauty in a child’s drawing.”

Katsu foresees a central role for drones in the “new post-human art” environment. “These are our new limbs, the internet, the smartphone, the drone …. It’s only in its infancy but the Icarus drone will eventually open the doors to precision drawing and painting on a scale and speed like we’ve never experienced.”

A detail of Icarus One painting on a wall (image via icarusone.com)

He’s already working on the next generation of Icarus with his friend Maddy Varner, which, he explains, will have “eyes.”

The implication of the Icarus drone is that the function of the artist will eventually be automated after the right program or algorithm is created to propagate her or his ideas and designs.

“[The drone project] hasn’t changed me as an artist. It has however mutated my perception of self,” he says. “I see my reflection phone in hand, drone in hand (or on back). I feel I have reach. My drone paintings can take larger form — 100-foot, shit, 300-foot-long paintings.”

You have to wonder if Katsu’s evolving family of drones, like their namesake, will overstep their limitations. The Greek legend recounts the tale of a giddy Icarus who, overcome by hubris, flew too close to the sun and melted the wax of his wings before plunging into the sea to his death. Considering the illegality of graffiti in most cities and increasingly stringent regulation of drone usage, it’s not hard to imagine the penalties that spray-painting drones could rack up.

 

 

The Best in Australian Street Art

Lost in E Minor reports of a very special place in Melbourne, Australia for street art:

If you’re looking to set your eyes on some serious street art – street art where some of the world’s best artists come to play – you don’t have to travel to New York or Buenos Aires. Some of the very best street art is in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD. Welcome to Hosier Lane, a cobbled stone laneway just off Flinders Street, where art overtakes everything.

This is much more than a place to tag. Hosier Lane is actually a well-recognised landmark of the city, and in The Age writer Chris Johnston’s words, is a ‘postmodern confluence of art forms’. That’s big fancy words for serious art.

Expect to spend a few hours wandering up and down the laneway on any given visit. You’ll find the work of iconic artists Sophia Argiriou, Adnate, Ha-Ha, Psalm, and Vexta, all competing for your attention with their extravagant murals and colourful sculpture work lining the alleyway.

But here’s the best part: the art is continuously changing at Hosier Lane. There’s a beautiful life cycle that comes with street art – one artist will create a masterpiece, and after it has been admired and critiqued, another piece will appear in its place. So you can visit Hosier Lane one week, come back another week, and you’ll have an entirely different experience.

And if you’re really lucky, you’ll see some of Australia’s best street artists creating those vibrant masterpieces right before your eyes.

 

ourne

Contributor

 

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by Play Melbourne in Cool Travel on Tuesday 12 May 2015

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If you’re looking to set your eyes on some serious street art – street art where some of the world’s best artists come to play – you don’t have to travel to New York or Buenos Aires. Some of the very best street art is right in Melbourne’s backyard. And by backyard I mean smack bang in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD.

Welcome to Hosier Lane, a cobbled stone laneway just off Flinders Street, where art overtakes everything.

This is much more than a place to tag. Hosier Lane is actually a well-recognised landmark of the city, and in The Age writer Chris Johnston’s words, is a ‘postmodern confluence of art forms’. That’s big fancy words for serious art.

Expect to spend a few hours wandering up and down the laneway on any given visit. You’ll find the work of iconic artists Sophia Argiriou, Adnate, Ha-Ha, Psalm, and Vexta, all competing for your attention with their extravagant murals and colourful sculpture work lining the alleyway.

But here’s the best part: the art is continuously changing at Hosier Lane. There’s a beautiful life cycle that comes with street art – one artist will create a masterpiece, and after it has been admired and critiqued, another piece will appear in its place. So you can visit Hosier Lane one week, come back another week, and you’ll have an entirely different experience.

And if you’re really lucky, you’ll see some of Australia’s best street artists creating those vibrant masterpieces right before your eyes.

Create your own Melbourne Playlist here!

But that’s not the only place to get your Melbourne street art fix. Check out these other inner-city locations for more:

Caledonian Lane

Running between Little Bourke Street and Lonsdale Street in the CBD, you’ll find this mini street art haven in the most unsuspecting location. Mosey on past the delivery trucks and dumpsters for an incredible look at some of the best stenciling and free-hand street art in the city.

Union Lane

Take a detour before you hit the stores at Bourke Street Mall for this jam-packed ground-to-sky street art extravaganza. The art of Union Lane was originally created by 50 young artists and takes up 550 square metres of space that’s hard to look away from.

AC/DC Lane

You can’t take a trip to Melbourne’s CBD without stopping by AC/DC Lane. Come here to pay tribute to your favourite Aussie band (AC/DC, of course) and to soak up the raw and gritty atmosphere of 70’s rock ‘n roll.

Croft Alley

In the heart of Melbourne’s Chinatown, Croft Alley offers a paradise of colour, and of course, major talent. You’ll want to spend a while here – with a camera – to take in all the murals that are stacked together like an enormous jigsaw puzzle.

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The 19 Best Cities To See Street Art In The United States

This is from the Huffington Post - the 19 Best Cities to see street art. I have to take exception with the fact that New York is ranked 19th here - last on their list. New York street art has several centers and there are also many great examples all over town. Agree with all the others but please, some respect for NYC!

 

Summer has descended upon the Northern Hemisphere, bringing visions of barbecues, pool parties and long walks on the beach. For those in the United States, this often means one thing: vacation. Whether you're flying from one city to another in the confines of coach, or breaking out the analog map for a cross-country road trip, your sights are set on travel.

But which cities will you visit? Some of us want great food, some need nightlife, others just want a short stroll to a body of water. Then, there are the vacationers who want to see some good art -- especially street art. What better time of the year to plan a bucket list of street art attractions than the summer, when the sun is out, the weather is warm and the saturated gleam of spray paint and wheat pastes is more appealing than ever?

So, if you're still dropping hypothetical pins onto an ideal summer Google map, here are some cities we'd suggest -- purely based on their ephemeral street art aesthetic. From Philly to Baltimore, Atlanta to Portland, these are the urban centers you should visit and ogle some open air art while you're there.

1. Miami, FL Neighborhood: Wynwood

Mural by Entes and Jade Rivera in the Wynwood area of Miami in 2012. (Photo courtesy AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

2. Philadelphia, PA Neighborhood: Fishtown

A postal worker walks past a 1987 mural titled "We The Youth" by artist Keith Haring in the Point Breeze neighborhood of Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

3. Seattle, WA Neighborhood: Rainier Avenue South and Pioneer Square

The Seattle Cape Fox Dancers perform at the 10th SpiritWalk, Saturday, June 5, 2004, at the Seattle Center Mural Ampitheatre in Seattle. (AP Photo/Tetona Dunlap)

4. San Francisco, CA Neighborhood: The Mission

A man walks in front of a colorful mural along Market Street on Wednesday, March 4, 2015, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

5. St. Louis, MO Neighborhood: The Grove and Cherokee Street

Grace McCammond's "Evolution of the Bike" mural in 2012. (Photo courtesy Raymond Boyd/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

6. Cleveland, OH Neighborhood: Collinwood

A mural of a whale in Cleveland in 2012. (Photo courtesy AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

7. Detroit, MI Neighborhood: McDougall-Hunt

A traffic light adorned with art similar to the Heidelberg Project's Polka Dot House in Detroit in 2006. (Photo courtesy of AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

8. Atlanta, GA Neighborhood: Old Fourth Ward and Krog Street Tunnel

A person walks past a mural along the Atlanta Beltline. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

9. Washington, DC Neighborhood: Columbia Heights

Alex Brewer, aka Hense, covered a former church in a multi-colored mural in 2012.

10. Denver, CO Neighborhood: Lower Highlands

"I Know You Know That I Know" mural by Sandra Fettingis in Denver in 2014. (Photo courtesy Craig F. Walker/The Denver Post)

11. Boston, MA Neighborhood: Somerville and Cambridge (outside Boston)

An Os Gêmeos mural in Boston in 2013. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

12. Chicago, IL Neighborhood: West Loop

(Photo courtesy Chicago Street Art Flickr)

13. Pittsburgh, PA Neighborhood: Braddock & North Braddock and Lawrenceville

A Romare Bearden mural pictured in Pittsburgh in 2008. (Photo courtesy of AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

14. Honolulu, HI Neighborhood: Kaka'ako

Rone and Wonder during Pow! Wow! Hawaii in Honolulu. (Photo via Brooklyn Street Art © Yoav Litvin)

15. Los Angeles, CA Neighborhood: EVERYWHERE

A Shepard Fairey mural in West Hollywood, Los Angeles in 2011. (Photo courtesy Konrad Fiedler/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

16. Austin, TX Neighborhood: Baylor Street

The famous "Hi, How Are You" mural by Daniel Johnston in Austin in 2004. (Photo courtesy AP Photo/Harry Cabluck, File)

17. Indianapolis, IN Neighborhood: Broad Ripple Village and Massachusetts Avenue

A Kurt Vonnegut mural is pictured in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

18. Portland, OR Neighborhood: Humboldt

A unidentified woman walks her bike past a mural on the side Nike Portland Thursday, Sept. 22, 2011, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

19. New York, NY Neighborhood: EVERYWHERE

Brooklyn Street Art Newsletter - June and July

OverUnder in LA and Vegas ; Faith, Family, and Gambling Editorz, 2015-07-04 14:00 OverUnder recently traveled to Las Vegas and LA to do some mural commissions for a large brand and he tells us he was having a bit of guilt for selling his soul to the devil to pay the bills. That was eased by the coolness of the employees he worked with, he says. But regardless […] BSA Film Friday: 07.03.15 Editorz, 2015-07-03 04:02 Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities. Now screening : 1. NYC Subway from Paul Whitworth 2. Jet Martinez, Painter & Muralist 3. Monochrome: Sofles 4. Mutiny of Colours – Iranian Street Art Documentary 5. HULA paints “Imua” 6. Epic Rap Battle : Ninja Turtles V. […] Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo and Donatello Spotted in BKLN : Owen Dippie Lies in Wait Editorz, 2015-07-02 04:02 Owen Dippie has been restless lately in Brooklyn, cooling his heels and trying to stay invisible like a ninja while he waits for his big opportunity to slaughter a wall. He’ll need 5 days of good weather but New York is only doing 3 at a time, so he’s slicing between rain drops, sharpening his […] Social Isolation, Isaac Cordal, and Neighbors (Sasiedzi) in Łódź Editorz, 2015-07-01 04:02 Brussels-based Spanish sculptor and street artist / public artist Isaac Cordal has just completed another poignant installation that speaks volumes to viewers, if they look up from their phones as they walk past. His sad little men are customarily detached from a sense of hope, now stranded out on verandas that are attached to a […] Fanzara, A Tiny Spanish Town Reinvents Itself With Help From Artists Editorz, 2015-06-22 04:02 Coming up during the third weekend of July will be the second installment of MIAU (The Unfinished Museum of Urban Art) in the tiny town of about 325 people named Fanzara, Spain. Begun by local artists and with a tiny budget from the local council, more than 20 Spanish and a handful of Italian street […] Lille Biennale: Update with Jana & JS, Psykoze, Nuria Mora, Baba Jung Editorz, 2015-06-23 04:02 The Biennale of Urban Art in Lille, in the north of France continues at a relaxed pace with new pieces including a new window pane reflective moment by the French-Austrian stencil couplt Jana & JS. Also included are new walls by Baba Jung, Nuria Mora, and Psykoze were completed these last two weeks. Here we […]

Shepard Fairey Hit with Felony Charges, Arrest Warrant Issued by Detroit Police

Shepard Fairey is in trouble with the law again. But this time its serious. The street artist faces felony charges related to several illegal tags and murals painted during his stay in Detroit in May.

The artist was in town to paint a commissioned 184 foot by 60 foot mural at One Campus Martius and openly discussed his plans to create illegal work during his visit.

“I still do stuff on the street without permission. I'll be doing stuff on the street when I'm in Detroit," Fairey told the Detroit Free Press last month.

Around the same time, the artist's signature "Andre the Giant" face and OBEY tags appeared on numerous downtown buildings. Now Fairey is charged with two counts of malicious destruction of property after an arrest warrant was filed in Detroit's 36th District Court on Friday. The crime carries a maximum sentence of five years in jail and fines of up to $10,000.

The Detroit Free Press reports that Police accused him of causing over $9,000 in damage and have called for him to turn himself in or face arrest on his next trip to Michigan. “Just because he is well-known does not take away the fact that he is also a vandal," insisted Detroit Police Sgt. Rebecca McKay, who oversees the city's graffiti task force. “And that's what we consider was done, in these instances, was vandalism."

Elysia Borowy-Reeder, executive director of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Detroit explained that despite crossing over into mainstream galleries, many street artists feel pressure to maintain their street credibility by continuing to do illegal work. “This is a whole genre that's become institutionalized, you'll always have some outliers go back to where they started and where they get their inspiration," she said.

Fairey's rap sheet already includes over 15 arrests for defacing public property. He was also found guilty of tampering with evidence in a copyright dispute with the Associated Press over the use of his iconic Obama “Hope" poster in 2012, for which he was fined $25,000.

Fairey isn't the only artist that has a reputation of running into the law.