Special Bulletin: "Surplus Candy" profiles graffiti centres and artists

Ladles and Gentlemints, we interrupt our irregularly scheduled posting to bring you this interesting message....

I learned from a friend in the States that there is a new YouTube series called "Surplus Candy" that is profiling graffiti centres around the world, or at least in the "New World". It is hosted by a guy named Hanksy, who interviews local folks about the graffiti/street art scenes in their cities.

It looks like there are two episodes so far....

In the first, Mr. Hansky visited Montreal:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nfTSFjedDM

The second episode highlighted the developing scene in Detroit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJMwwH7GcmU&list=UU7i6iH7cLz1aq0E7HeVmhcA

Here is an article in The Huffington Post about the Detroit episode, with some images by local artists:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/16/hanksy-detroit-_n_5992818.html

The show seems to be produced by a group called The Hundreds, and the episodes are published on their YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7i6iH7cLz1aq0E7HeVmhcA

The Hundreds have the usual social network links and pages. Info on their Facebook page says:

Company Overview

At it’s core, The Hundreds is a multi-faceted project that houses an apparel and accessories brand, footwear range, eyewear, online-magazine, print magazine and retail stores. All ends of The Hundreds incorporate our trademark lifestyle, attitude, and personal perspective on street subculture.

The Hundreds clothing is inspired by LOS ANGELES LIFESTYLE / CALIFORNIA CULTURE and Southern California’...s skateboarding, surf, punk, and hip-hop cultures. The design is also reminiscent of 1980s surf-culture t-shirts, independent skateboard company apparel of the 1990s, and the advent of “streetwear” at the end of the millennium. The line is sold in limited quantities in the world’s most prestigious streetwear and skate boutiques and has been recognized by media such as Inc., the New York Times Magazine, Antenna, Giant Robot, KoreAm, MuchMusic Television, and T Magazine.

 

So it is a business, but now you have been warned. I've watched the "Surplus Candy" episodes, though, and they are good - worth a look! (The animated Tom Hanks face gets a bit old after a short while, though.)

Happy viewing.


UPDATE 5/10/2014
Here is episode three of Surplus Candy, where Hanksy visits Philadelphia:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCPZosCNpn8

UPDATE 23/11/2014
Here is episode four of Surplus Candy, where Hanksy visits Portland:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-4zOa_dO60

UPDATE 29/11/2014
Here is episode five of Surplus Candy, where Hanksy visits Chicago:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMvIgmSp_8Y

UPDATE 18/03/2015
Here is episode six of Surplus Candy, where Hanksy visits Austin:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OqpszlVD2c

 

Canvassing (Parts of) Tuscany - Part 1 - Graffiti in Florence

I was in Tuscany recently with the family unit, and I took the chance to sample some of the local urban/street/graffiti art in two of the cities there. I passed through Florence (Firenze) very briefly on my way to Arezzo (Arezzo), where we spent a number of days.

From the point of view of street art, this was doing things exactly backwards, as I found out. While there is a lot of art in Arezzo, and lots of basic graffiti, there does not seem to be a great deal of the kinds of street art I usually feature in this blog. Florence, on the other hand, seems to be a virtual Mecca for street artists. So, I was able to capture only the smallest fragment of what's on display in Florence and I had to hunt around a good bit for what I was able to find in Arezzo...

In this post - part 1 of a mini-series I'll do on what I found - I'll start by sharing the few bits I was able to photograph in Florence. I saw plenty street art there, but this was mostly through the windows of taxis and trains as we passed through. It was pretty frustrating. I suppose I will just have to visit Florence again, budgeting more time to wander around....

While taking the train, I found the stations around Florence to be rife with graffiti, naturally enough I suppose. I was able to take videos of some of this work as we flew by. I have uploaded two of the better videos to YouTube and I have provided the links below here. Though the graffiti does whiz by as the video rolls, you can pause the flow to get a better look at particular pieces if you wish.

Video 1:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3VpXyxegE8

Video 2:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKQxkf0h8KE

I also tried my hand at taking some screen shots from one of these videos, so I will include the better ones here.

In my next posts, I'll share the interesting bits and pieces I found in Arezzo. Ciao!


LINKS!!! 

I found there is a small Tuscany graffiti group on Flickr. The link is below here. In a way, though, you can get more results by just typing in searches on Flickr with terms like "graffiti" and "Tuscany", "Florence", "Arezzo", etc.
https://www.flickr.com/groups/1277232@N20/

This is a news story of sorts about good and bad graffiti in Florence. It shows some great work and lists areas of the city that I should try to check out next time I'm there. I saw the piece at 1:40 when passing in our taxi and longed to jump out and photograph it.... but we were on our way to the airport. Next time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OD7gSv7K6I

Here is a video I came across of some graffiti writers at work in Firenze with a sweet soundtrack:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPXECkIMY8Y

And video of a graffiti fest in Florence back in 2009:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wPH_p2KFEw

If you are inspired now to visit Florence, there is a plethora of travel videos about the place. Here is a video giving you Florence in a nutshell:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0_zfTN5_jI

Enda and the Cat

Just a short post today about two small pieces located on Oliver Plunkett Street.

First, Mr. Vincent Zara recently put up a political piece portraying Mr. Enda Kenny (the current Taoiseach, or Irish Prime Minister) as a particular famous literary and Disney character...

Nearby is a nice paste-up of a cat. I'm not sure who it's by, but I like cats....

LINKS!

Not much to link to this time, but here is Enda Kenny giving a "State of the Nation Address" on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9qK_A8dRp4

Here is a trailer for Disney's film Pinocchio:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKAX3IjyluQ

And here is a YouTube video of a cat playing ping pong:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXz2ABOIqwo

Also worth checking out is the YouTube channel for Oskar and Klaus:
https://www.youtube.com/user/Mick12321kciM

And last but certainly not least, here's a link to the "Simon's Cat" cartoons:
https://www.youtube.com/user/simonscat

People's Republic of Cork

Last year, a great mural was put up at the corner of Cornmarket Street and Kyle Street in Cork. It was done by artist Tom Doig on behalf of the people at the People's Republic of Cork, a website providing events information, music guides, chat forums, etc. associated with Cork. 

According to Doig, the idea was to create

a mural in the centre of Cork City in order to brighten up a fairly delapidated area of town while at the same time celebrate some of Cork’s most recognisable citizens.  We came up with a design that incorporated the theme of a ‘People’s Republic’, which would be recognisable to most Corkonians.  The famous Cork people included are: Roy Keane (Footballer), Rory Gallagher (Guitarist), Frank O'Connor (Writer), Sonia O'Sullivan (Olympic Athlete) and Mother Jones (Trade Unionist).

He said the mural was put up over four days in July 2013. I finally noticed it this year ( : - p ) and photographed it this July - one year later. Better late than never, I guess?! It is a bit weathered, but still in good shape...

 

 

Roy Keane

 

 

 

 

Rory Gallagher

Frank O'Connor and Sonia O'Sullivan

Mother Jones

Links, links and more links!!

Here is a blog post about the making of the mural, written by the artist, Tom Doig:
http://www.tomdoig.ie/index.htm/Project_Blog/Entries/2013/7/8_Peoples_Republic_of_Cork_Mural.html

The website of the People's Republic of Cork:
http://www.peoplesrepublicofcork.com/

And a write-up about the mural on that website:
http://www.peoplesrepublicofcork.com/articles/new-cork-street-mural

A video of the mural taking shape, with some music by Rory Gallagher:
http://vimeo.com/75602906

Here's a video of Roy Keane appearing on the Late Late Show:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dua7oeEydVw

And an Aprés Match sketch featuring their version of Keano:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eX4qhgYddX4

Rory Gallagher plays "Cradle Rock" at Montreux in 1975:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-k4iocWURPk

A film of Rory Gallagher's 1974 Irish Tour:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpQdKzq29W8

An interview with Frank O'Connor from a 1957 edition of The Paris Review:
http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/4847/the-art-of-fiction-no-19-frank-oconnor

A 2012 article on Frank O'Connor from The Guardian:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/oct/23/brief-survey-short-story-frank-o-connor

Sonia O'Sullivan wins silver in Sydney in 2000:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nK6H8OeMEGA

Career highlights of Sonia O'Sullivan:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cksaqL6kPnY

A short documentary on Mother Jones:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LJBWhPKWWc

The website of the magazine that bears Mother Jones' name:
http://www.motherjones.com/

Before I Die...

Earlier this year Cork joined the hundreds of cities around the world that have created a "Before I Die" wall. The Before I Die  movement is a global street art project that gives people a way to share their personal aspirations in public space. It was started by Candy Chang, a Taiwanese American artist, after she lost someone she loved.

 

 

 

According the project's website (http://beforeidie.cc/):

She wanted [...] to know what was important to the people around her. So after receiving permission, she painted the side of an abandoned house in her neighborhood in New Orleans with chalkboard paint and stenciled it with a grid of the sentence, “Before I die I want to _______.” Anyone walking by could pick up a piece of chalk, reflect on their lives, and share their personal aspirations in public space.

It was all an experiment and she didn’t know what to expect. By the next day, the wall was full of responses and it kept growing [...].

After posting a few photos, she received hundreds of messages from people who wanted to make a wall with their community [...] and now thanks to passionate people around the world, over 525 Before I Die walls have been created in over 30 languages and 70 countries.

The Cork wall is located on Kyle Street, off North Main Street. It was created by four French girls living in the city. They were inspired by seeing the wall in Prague during a visit to that city. They painted the wall on April 20, and it was filled with people's comments within 48 hours.

On this page are a few shots I took of the wall, and below are samples of the comments on it. I've included some relevant links at the bottom of the page, as well.

UPDATE 29/11/2014

I passed by the wall recently and snapped a few shots of some writing that wasn't there when I took the above photos. I'm posting them here...

LINKS!!!

Here's a link to the Cork wall's page on the Before I Die website:
http://beforeidie.cc/site/cork/

And the Cork wall's Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/beforeIdiewallcork

An article on the Cork wall in Cork's Evening Echo:
http://www.eveningecho.ie/2014/05/13/want-die-die/

And a YouTube video by James Nano Nagle of artist John Flynn drawing a Jackalope in chalk on the wall:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3r9BGcWpF0

LiveStyles, Cork 2014 - Part 5 - White Street Car Park

Not much text this time. I'll just share the photos I took in the White Street Car Park in June soon after the recent LiveStyles Festival. As you'll know from my other posts, the festival took place over the June Bank Holiday weekend, and some great street art was painted in different parts of the city by local and visiting artists. There were so many pieces in the car park that I didn't do a scientific survey or anything. I just snapped away. So, here's what I found, in no particular order....