It’s become apparent the past few years that major museums and cultural institutions have begun the process of revamping their images. Looking to stay current and on the cusp of major art and cultural revolutions, large institutions have overhauled their staff, included more technology within their collections and exhibitions and have started to focus on movements that at one time were shunned by the likes of the fine art world; the street art movement and low-brow/pop surrealism.

Just last year, major institutions such as the Bristol Museum hosted widely successful exhibitions featuring Banksy and the Art From The New World Exhibition, while MOCA made history appointing Jeffrey Deitch as their new Director. We’re bound to see some creative uses of public space from them in the near future. Joining these ranks is the Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego who appear to be revolutionizing their approach to street art and its effect on our communities and public spaces.

This past July the Museum opened its regular scheduled programming for guest curator Pedro Alonzo and MCASD Associate Curator Lucia Sanromán’s exhibition Viva la Revolución: A Dialogue with the Urban Landscape. The exhibition’s intent is to explore the active dialogue that happens between artists and the urban landscape utilizing visual icons such as advertisements, signage, graffiti and waste. It would appear with the evolution and ever popularity of street art that the main questions coming in to focus are the reclamation and use of our public space while addressing the inundation of corporate imagery and advertisements that have blanketed our outdoors.

To properly address the issues of the urban landscape and public spaces, Alonzo and Sanromán took the exhibition outdoors installing numerous public art pieces inspired by the city’s architecture and people. The duo included a range of 20 artists from 10 countries that are linked together by how their work addresses urban issues.

Viva La Revolucion: A Dialogue with the Urban Landscape
July 18, 2010 – January 2, 2011
Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego
San Diego, California

www.mcasandiego.org

Urban art is often seen as something that is quickly executed before the artists vanishes back into the night and the piece is discovered the following morning. Jorge Rodriguez Gerada is a pioneer of both urban art and culture jamming. His approach, however, is many things but swift. Jorge Rodriguez Gerada investigates, researches and delivers with precision, a process that can often time last several weeks. His larger than life charcoal portraits explore the issues of identity. As a Cuban-American living in Barcelona, Spain, he does not fit into any of the groups that society tends to dichotomize immigrants into. Jorge questions issues of his own identity and uses that investigation as a catalyst for creating masterpieces.

The use of charcoal as a material is a strategic choice. Jorge wants the portrait to fade away with rain and wind. Like memories of people tend to fade, so do his images. The images he draws are not celebrities. Not in the original meaning of the word, anyway. He seeks to give people in the community their “Warhol 15 minutes of fame.” In that respect, the people he paints are local celebrities -- they are people who tell an interesting story of the development and circumstances in that particular community.

Despite its technical prowess, the actual drawing is not the artwork. Instead, the art is found in the entire process: searching for the model, planning, executing, responding to mother nature. His pieces are striking from the moment they are done until they are just ghosts looking over the city.

I grew up in the South Bronx in the early 1990s. We had no galleries in the Bronx then. It was still in the days before the gentrifiers discovered the Bronx as a place where art could thrive. But there WAS art and it was everywhere!

I remember riding the 4 train and seeing huge colorful bubble letters, “COPE” it read. To a young creative kid, the colors were inspiring and the bubble letters were classic. To an inner city teenager, the words really hit home. Cope. Learn to deal with those things that are difficult in your life – And in the Bronx, there were many.

In the inner city Cope2 was considered a Robin Hood – taking back the ad space taken up by big corporations like Nike, who were just “robbing hoods.” Cope2’s tag were tactical. They cruised on the old red trains across the city. They were found on billboards. Cope spread the message through out the Bronx. Be proactive. Cope.

Top Left: Cope2 working on one of his street pieces. Top Right: Cope on the 4 Train.
Above Left: Cope2 in the United Kingdon Above Right: Colorful Bubble Letter Scheme
Below: A sneaker design for the Pro Keds line.

Adam Neate is said to be one of Britain’s most exacting emerging artists and I believe it. He paints on practcally everything but I find his work with cardboard boxes and other recycled materials the most interesting. His subjects are figurative and abstract with beautiful splashes of color, overlapping lines and forms, and negative space that are in some ways reminiscent of Basquiat. Neate’s work is featured at Elms Lesters in London. His first show with them in 2006, titled Hype, was a success as all of his subsequent exhibitions there have resulted in completely sold out shows! he has also been recognized throughout the art world and is collected internationally with admirers around the globe.

Not only is Neate a master at technique but a true sharer of his work. He is said to have left over 1,000 pieces out on the streets of London for people to take home and enjoy! What a treat it would be to come across one, hanging on the wall around the corner or propped against a lamppost. Neate also does street murals for all enjoy, talk about giving back to your community! This reminded me of a statement by Swoon commenting on the importance of her street art and it’s potential for making art accessible to everyone. In this, she made an interesting point about how her her private sales are important because they allow her to continue with her street work and to truly share her artwork with everyone, not just the elite few who can afford it. This is what I’m talking about!

I saw “Neck Face” spray painted on the side of a building for the first time in 2005. It said “My Old Lady Loves Neckface,” – actually it had a little heart instead of “loves.” The note on the abandoned storefront of “My Old Lady” in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood made me giggle. I found the scribbled sayings and characters humorous and amusing and Neck Face became an immediate favorite. The easily-recognizable scribble, “Neckface” with accompanying random quotes, not to mention his awkward demonic monsters and larger than life hairy arms and clawed-hands lurking ominously around the sides of buildings were awesome.

Discovering new Neckface pieces is always a treat. In Seattle, I stumbled upon a skate shop and without hesitation purchased a t-shirt designed by Neck Face which has been my favorite default article of clothing since. A recent trip to Rome caught me snapping shots of scribbled Neckface’s in alleyways and door stoops in the Centro Storico, the historic center. Funny enough, his scribbles were similar to those founds in the Roman ruins. After some mad googling, I found out that the street-artist has had a few solo shows at various galleries and spends a good portion of his time designing skateboards, sneakers, and clothing. Neckface spent much time in art galleries like The Luggage Store Gallery scribbling notes. He is most recently rumored to be the art director for Baker Skateboards.

To some, it seems as though the tagger/artist/skater has fallen off the map and is spoken of as a one-minute wonder in the spectrum of street artists. His recent show, “Death Becomes You” at the Don’t Come Gallery in Melbourne, Australia has proven the opposite. Neck Face has definitely transitioned from the streets to the gallery but doesn’t seem to be slowing down. Personally, I’d like to see more of his work on the streets- for everyone to experience and enjoy but I suppose in some way his growing empire of apparel is doing just that. Making his work accessible to the masses and shared by passers-by rather than on street-sides and alleyways. Whatever he is doing, I want to see more of it!