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      “Street Chronicles” Group Exhibition at UrbanBreak, Seoul, South Korea

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      Urban & Street Art Fair, URBAN BREAK 2022, marks its third anniversary this year. URBAN BREAK drew attention with 15,000 people attending in 2020, the first year alone. Last year, despite COVID-19 at its peak, 40,000 people visited the fair, thereby solidifying its status as one of the most prominent fairs.Rom Levy, director of StreetArtNews, co-planned the Special Exhibition of International Street Artists. Entitled Street Chronicles, the exhibition is showcasing the works of artists who were the pillars of street art techniques, concepts and different styles.STREET CHRONICLES retraces a side of Urban Art history bringing the streets of NYC and London to Seoul.Street art was considered vandalism when protesters during wars and political corruptions used the walls of their cities to comment on political and social issues with slogans and graffitis. What was initially regarded as vandalism has since become a significant art form. Murals and other forms of street art are renowned for their beautification of cities, raising awareness, and standing as witnesses to history.This proposal includes Banksy, whose identity remains anonymous to the day. His politically charged works provoke alternative viewpoints, encouraging revolution in the art world, making him one of the most controversial street artists. Banksy’s work has been breaking down the boundaries and expectations of street art critics, using many different street art mediums and styles. Banksy began his graffiti practice inspired by Blek Le Rat, one of the most prominent artists in Street Art. Inspired by what he saw in New York during his visit in 1971, Blek Le Rat started creating artworks across the streets of Paris in 1981. He primarily used stencils in his practice. His first stencils were black rats running along the walls throughout Paris. In 1983 he began to paint life-sized stencils, which became his trademark alongside his rats and have influenced generations of street artists worldwide.Also included are other notable Urban artists such as D*Face, Shepard Fairey and Invader, who all contributed to the development of the art styles and mediums. Alongside artists from the newer generation who weave the connection between street art and the wave of the new contemporary, such as Roby Dwi Antono, Andrew Hem, Lonac and Andrew Schoultz. Their work bridges contemporary art aesthetics with illustrative figuration. For example, Andrew Hem incorporates atmospheric and richly textured narratives in a vivid palette of twilight blues invigorated by fields of deep red and specks of golden light. Spirits are evoked through the visionary presentation of remembrances and dreams of his haunting impressions of civilisation and landscapes. While Andrew Schoultz’s work has a visual approach to social and political commentary. His enormous murals, paintings, installations and sculptures are heavily patterned, creating an intense and mesmerising vision of current events.Street art is dedicated to bringing art to the people, raising awareness about political and social issues, and portraying the truth of reality.‘I want the characters of the paintings to walk out of the museums to give them back to the people of the city.’ -Blek Le Rat.Tickets for URBAN BREAK 2022 are sold at KRW 20,000 for general admission and at KRW 100,000 for VIP admission. Those who have purchased VIP tickets can enter early from 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm prior to the exhibition to be open on July 21st, 2022, at 3:00 pm. Venue will be at COEX Hall B, Seoul, South Korea.You can book your tickets to this year’s Urban Break at their website. More

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      Clown Skateboards – Final Manifesto Drop!

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      Clown skateboards have just dropped the final release of decks in their ‘Manifesto’ series. In their words, via an Instagram announcement, they put out the following statement:‘We love our manifesto and what it meant to us. However, this drop of manifestos will be the end of the “here to finish what we started” run… We decided upfront that this will be the final run of manifesto’s as we have been back for a minute now and have new goals we want to fulfil.’This marks the close of another chapter in the Clown story, but for anyone following along so far, you know that it’s far from over. One of the key goals for Clown when they decided on their return, around 15 years after they shut down their doors back in the early noughties, was that they were aiming for a carbon neutral operation. They aren’t quite up to speed yet, but this is the main focus of the next act, as they explain below:‘It was obvious we weren’t going to be a fast fashion, why the fuck would you want to! Waste of ink, cloth and packaging brands that don’t understand all the various steps of the value chain and more importantly the side effects of production is a place we do not want to be in. So, we picked makers that had a lower impact, we deliberately picked printing methods that used lower discharge and packaging that was compostable at least. To date on all our apparel we can honestly say that:78% (“So not 100% perfect, but 100% on the way there”) of it is made using renewable energy100% is made using organic or recycled fibers100% comes from places that do look after the people that make it and pay them properly (that shit matters).All our clothing packing is FSC, locally manufactured, recyclable or compostable and none of it has the characteristics of a plastic bag as when that shit hits the ocean and yes 10% of all bags do – who knows why. It does break down after 2 years but in the process, it chokes marine life, we have all seen the photos…We don’t just leave it there as we also carry this over in our boards with all wood coming from forest conservations areas that maintain biodiversity in nature, all waste 100% recycled and glues that are not going to make those pressing our boards to be ill in a few years and then dump all that into our waterways. We don’t shrink wrap and all the bags we do use are made from recyclable material and can be recycled again.Obviously, these things have a cost attached to them but better than costing the earth, right? But that cost is on us, your agreement when buying Clown stuff is to wear the fuck out of it then up-cycle it or hand it on. If you buy to waste, please don’t buy from us.Two new tee drops include a triple pack of tees, and the ‘Mr Ed’ tee joins the Clown OG design, which returns for a ‘Flashlite’ special. Based around the idea of the funk band Parliament, who used to shine flashlites (aka torches, if you’re British) into the crown to shine a light on people who had found the funk. Flipping the idea into the 21st century, Clown are shining the light back on the people who support them – without you, they say, ‘we’re in the dark’.Both tee drops are part of the Clown “one of 120 products”, which means they will make 120 of these bad boys, with 20 going out to clown team members and the rest up for grabs. Fully vegan, organic, and made by people that don’t work in a sweatshop and get paid properly. Happy days.www.instagram.com/clown_skateboardswww.clownskateboards.com/shop More

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      Banksy new street works in Gorleston, Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft.

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      Looks like Banksy is spending his summer holidays in the UK as a few pieces have just popped up in Gorleston, Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft.As usual with the elusive British artist, he dropped a series of brilliant works which are sure to be enjoyed by the local vacationers.Could it be related that Great Yarmouth, Gorleston and Lowestoft are submitting a joint bid to become the next UK City of Culture in 2025?Expect to hear from Banksy confirming these works shortly. More

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      Discovering Banksy – Part 8

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      British street artist Banksy has a career that has been marked by experimentation, risk, and a daring playfulness. His stencil-heavy motifs—of rats, cops, and kids with balloons—have simply become part of a shared cultural vocabulary, reproduced (and ripped off) with abandon.Banksy’s signature style emerged around the 1990s and became recognized around areas of Bristol. It was by the early 2000s that Banksy relocated to London. This is where he began to gain notoriety; but, at the same time, his international work took off.“Royal Guard Peeing on Wall” London, 2002Initially, he preferred drawing and producing freehand, but in 2000 he began using stencils, in part due to how quickly they may be produced. Scroll down below and view our selection of Banksy’s early stencil-works in around London.“Girl hugging TV” in Covent Garden, London, 2005Old Street, London, 2005East End, London, 2005Banksy’s CCTV’s in London, 2003Banksy’s Pooh Bear in London, 2003“Snorting Copper” by Banksy on Curtain Road, in Shoreditch, London, 2005Curtain Road, Londoin, 2004“Che Guevear” by Banksy in London, 2003Board X Urban Games, London, 2000Dalston, London back in 2003“Flower Thrower” in London, 2000Again, much like his other works, this simple image of “Flower Thrower” conveys a lot, in terms of his political commentary. By substituting flowers for a weapon, it’s as if Banksy is sending a message that there can be peace and hope, even in places where there is a lot of destruction. More

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      Discovering Banksy – Part 7

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      Arguably the most controversial street artist in the world, the works of Banksy have become a subculture in their own right. Banksy’s works are well-known for being political and thought-provoking at the same time. The anti-establishment slant together with his creativity made him reach this level of popularity.Banksy is without doubt among the most gifted minds and has expressed his thoughts through his graffiti. Take a look below and enjoy these quotes and sayings by Banksy.“Do not punish yourself”, 2005Artwork from Los Angeles Series, 2003Japan, 2002Graffiti work in Los Angeles, USAMural done on Melrose Ave in Hollywood, California. It depicts the famous sidekick Robin with the quote “NO MORE HEROES”.Bristol, England, Late 90’sThis is a very obscure early Banksy stencils from the late 90s in Bristol. The text is paraphrasing a quote from the film director David Puttnam “Nowhere in the world will you find a statue of a critic, or the biography of a committee”.Early London, UK work, 2001Quote from Los Angeles show, 2006“Fame is a basic human right” Los Angeles, USA, 2006“You looked better on myspace” another work from Los Angeles, USA, 2006Early piece of Banksy from Glasgow, Scotland,“Lying to the police is never wrong”Banksys “The Bear and the Bee” in Kensington Park Road, LondonThis piece is found on the side of a trash container in Notting Hill, London.  It is a parody of a La Fontaine fable.“If you win the rat-race, you’re still a rat”London, United Kingdom, 2004A love poem by Banksy form Los Angeles show, 2006Last image is Banksy’ s take on romance injected with his kind of humour. More

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      Banksy in Reading, UK

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      Banksy seems to be back with a brand new artwork that just appeared on Reading prison in the United Kingdom.
      The stencil shows a man using knotted bedsheets to “escape” from the prison. The man could eventually be the famed writer Oscar Wilde, who did spend some time in the prison between 1895 and 1895 for “homosexual crimes.”. The history behind Mr Wilde has helped establish Reading Gaol as a historic landmark.
      The structure is a grade 2 building located in Forbury Road which is owned by the Ministry of Justice.
      Banksy has not yet acknowledged this artwork on his Instagram but this should be done fairly soon.
      The painting appeared over the week-end.
      Check back with us soon for more updates from Banksy. More

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      Discovering Banksy – Part 5

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      Banksy’s street art first appeared in Bristol in the 1990’s. From the underground art scene of Bristol he expanded his work and is continually sharing his artistic mark all over the world. His satirical street art and subversive epigrams combine dark humour with graffiti executed in a distinctive stenciling technique.

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      This particular style is usually recognised easily by people as his trademark. Most of Banksy’s pieces nowadays can be described as bold and striking with the abundance of blacks (and spot colours on occasion). His vibrant murals when he was just a starting freehand graffiti artist are lesser known to the public.
      For this day’s article, here’s a selection of Banksy’s earliest works with most works created before he started using stencils.

      “Slick” a freehand piece in Bristol, England, 1999

      Back in 1999, Banksy was a friend of the then owner of this property who let the artist hand paint his Slick on Brick artwork, depicting a monkey plunging a detonator to blow the door off a safe, on the outside wall of his garage/workshop.
      The mural was then covered over in magnolia paint by a disapproving neighbour a year after. Banksy’s work now hidden in layers of paint have been estimated to amount around £400,000 if it is restored in a way that some of his previous works have been, said art experts.

      “Slammin’” in Southmead, Bristol, England, 1999

      “Crude Oil Jerry” stencil of a cartoon mouse character Jerry on an oil painting, United Kingdom, 2003

      “Bird and Grenade” oil and spray enamel on found canvas in London, 2002

      “Quakattack” In Bristol, England, in the late 90’s

      Print in Leicester, England, mid-90’s

      Banksys’ old elephant graffiti with the words “What part of thermo-nuclear war don’t you understand”

      “Vote Less” in Brighton, UK, 2006

      Early cartoon of Banksy’s “Elephant with Bomb”

      “Dog Circle” an early painting

      Mural in Carlton Arms Hotel in New York City, 1999

      Banksy once stayed and painted at Carlton Arms, a Manhattan hotel that has been a haven for artists seeking lodging. 

      Banners by Banksy in Carlton Arms Hotel, New York City, late 90s

      Mural in Easton, Bristol, England, late 90s

      Work in Bristol, England, late 90s

      A freehand piece in Bristol, England, 1999

      Mural in Bristol, England, 1997 More

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      Discovering Banksy – Part 3

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      Famous street artist Banksy displays his art on publicly visible surfaces such as walls and self-built physical prop pieces. Banksy no longer sells photographs or reproductions of his street graffiti, but his public “installations” are regularly resold, often even by removing the wall they were painted on.

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      When we think of an artist, the first things that comes to mind are their most renowned pieces. So here’s a refreshing way in rediscovering Banksy’s art — a little viewing over some pages of his sketchbook. Scroll below to view some of Banksy’s rare sketches and have a sneak of what goes into his artistic process.

      Sketch of policemen together with the subject of Edvard Munch’s The Scream

      “Riot Cop Drawing” from Dalston, 2003

      This sketch was exhibited at the Vanina Holasek / Bankrobber London show in NYC Dec 2nd-29th 2007. Listed as “Tom Tom” Piece work 2004 (but 2002/3 is more likely).
      The drawing shows a window display formulated for a Banksy show at TomTom Gallery in London (Banksys gallery at the time), with ideas for the window graphics/paint/artwork incorporating “Fuck the Police” and Banksy as well as. An early example of his now iconic signature. The show never materialised at TomTom but was to take another much larger form at the infamous “Turf War” show in Dalston (East London) in 2003.

      Sketch of a person holding a stereo with the words “Don’t hate the player, hate the game”

      Banksy’s sketchbook drawing of his freehand Cat & Dog street piece in Easton, Bristol in the late 90s

      Cat & Dog Piece in Easton, late 90’s

      Sketch of graffiti with pointing hands

      Sketch of a maid with the words “grim spot for it light skin tone”

      Banksy’s “Sweep It Under The Carpet Maid” sketch

      This is a sketch of one of Banksy’s more famous works “Sweep It Under The Carpet Maid”. Banksy explained the meaning behind the pictures: “In the bad old days, it was only popes and princes who had the money to pay for their portraits to be painted, this is a portrait of a maid called Leanne who cleaned my room in a Los Angeles motel. She was quite a feisty lady.”

      Sketch of a person painting

      A quote from Banksy

      Rat sketch of Banksy

      Rats are one of Banksy’s greatest sources of inspiration and one of the most prolific subjects in his work.

      Banksy’s sketches and versions of street signs More