If you are a fan of street art, then you must love the paintings of the late artist, Jean Michel Basquiat. The artist who was known for his poetic writings all around New York City as well as his paintings representing issues of heritage and society in a densely collaged manner. Basquiat is also known for his SAMO graffiti. Samo, short for “same ol’ shit.” was often followed by a message. The SAMO writing series ended with the epitaph “Samo is dead.”

In this print, New York artist Once5 includes small symbols that are often found in Basquiat’s paintings such as the triple point crown. Embedded within the grain of the wood you can find many of phrases Basquiat scribed through out the city. These sayings include: “SAMO for the so called avant garde.” “SAMO as a neo art form.” SAMO a pin drops like a pungent odor.” ” SAMO as an escape clause.” and “The whole livery line , bow like this with, the big money all, crushed into these feet.”

You can purchase this print for $60 on the Once5 page or by clicking here. There is free shipping in the United States and Canada. 50% of the proceeds from the print will go towards the development of cultural centers in Haiti.

It is great to hear about the release of a new book called “Street Art New York”, by Steven P. Harrington and Jaime Rojo, with a foreword by Carolina A. Miranda. The authors of the successful Brooklyn Street Art book (and founders of BrooklynStreetArt.com) expand their scope and take readers on a fast-paced run through the streets of New York, along the waterways, on the rooftops, and up the walls of today’s ever-morphing vibrant Street Art scene as only NYC can tell it.

To celebrate the release of the new book “Street Art New York” and to benefit the programs of Free Arts NYC, original artworks by a stellar array of today’s Street Artists from New York and beyond will be featured in a silent auction to take place on April 24, 2010, from 7 pm to 9:30 pm at Factory Fresh Gallery in Bushwick, Brooklyn.

The Benefit, to be held at one of New York’s epicenters for the thriving new Street Art scene, Factory Fresh Gallery, will feature an incredibly strong selection of today’s Street Artists joining together for one night as a community to benefit NYC kids from disadvantaged backgrounds as the numbers of poor and low-income children in New York continues to rise. Representing a renaissance in modern urban art at the dawn of a new decade, this will very likely be the largest collection of 2010’s street artists in one location. For more information on the event go to
the Street Art New York book website by click here.

Chris of the Robots Will Kill collective released a very limited edition print with the folks over at Abztract. These pieces are especially great because Chris hand drew a little character at the bottom of each of the prints – making each one the prints unique.

Here is a quick blurb about Chris in case you are not familiar with the artist: “A child of the 80s, Chris’ world was often completely flooded with the imagery and ideas presented by his television, his comic books, and the music and movies of the time. Immersed in these various mediums, Chris began to store the images brought forward though these everyday experiences in what he refers to as a “mental journal”.” Titled “Dio De Las Robots” and at 18 X 24, this print is limited to a run of 50, signed and numbered. It can be purchased on their online shop at www.abztract.com

It’s no news to anyone that the earthquake in Port au Prince, Haiti destroyed much of the city and that many organizations have tried to raise funds for new development in the country. It is refreshing to hear that artists, like Erik Otto, are using their work to help in these efforts. Erik recently released a print which he chose to pair with Architecture for Humanity. A non profit that uses open source design to build projects for people in need. Otto will be donating 15% of each print sold to Architecture for Humanity’s rebuilding efforts in Haiti.

The beautiful 12″ by 12″ piece is called “Gathering”. It is inspired by the idea of a collective consciousness reaching for the same source. Erik scavenged 25 different record sleeves, which he has up-cycled as the canvas for his print. Each print in the edition is made by hand with a combination of house paint, spray paint and screenprinting. Due to the handmade nature of Erik’s process, there are slight variations amongst the prints, making each one a one-of-a-kind.

Adressing the failures of technology is a fair premise for creating art work, especially in the technology dependent society that we are a part of. It is on this premise that we find the work of painter and printmaker, Ryan McIntosh. The overall driving theme in McIntosh’ work is the failure of technology and it’s impact on human life and art. He addresses these issues in many mediums including sculpture and digital media, but it can also be found in the form of street art as wheat pastings and stickers.

While there is a lot to talk about in his body of work, the safety card images are the most striking. The series depicts airplane disasters which he paints from appropiated airplane safety manual imagery. “The safety card images are the most simple, plasticized pictograms of the most basic and urgent form of visual communication. With no language barrier present in the images, they are universally understandable by all. These images and photographic paintings hold a mirror up the time and culture in which they were produced.” McIntosh explains.

To see more of Ryan’s work you can go to his website at www.ryanmcintosh.net. Currently, you can find Ryan’s work at the Inflate/Deflate group exhibition at Studio 304 in Providence, Rhode Island. Also, stay tuned for an interview with the artist in the near future.