bad banana blog

8-Bit Street Art

Found on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Wonderful.

Via Wooster Collective.

Crossbreeding and Crosshatching

Graffiti artist Fade (Michael Alan) led a double life for almost seventeen years. During the day, he studied anatomy and practiced his figure sketching. At night, he climbed and tagged New York buildings. According to Alan, there was no connection and he felt unsatisfied. Uninterested in pursuing one genre of art over the other, he started integrating his two seemingly inconsistent styles to arrive at a unique hybrid. With a heavy emphasis on his signature crosshatching, Alan's art is dark, surreal, and visually complex. You can check out some of his latest drawings through February 12 at the McCaig-Welles Gallery in Brooklyn.

Via Preik.

Moss Graffiti

Instead of using paint, Edina Tokodi creates her street art with patches of eco-friendly moss. Her green pieces, which are meant to be touched, have been popping up around Williamsburg, Brooklyn and in other spots. Read more about it over at Inhabitat.

Via Advertising Lab.

Rural Graffiti

There's just something about that face I really like. From Zonenkinder in Germany.

Via Wooster Collective.

Liquidated Logos

French street artist Zevs got his start by tagging billboards in Paris. Today, his work is displayed in art galleries. His Liquidated Logos show just finished concluded at the Lazarides Gallery in London.

Via Wooster Collective and Art MoCo.

The Forgotten Spaces

For her B-Side project, artist Andrea Acosta focused on the back side of street signs going one way on a street in Worpswede, Germany. Her goal was to delicately highlight these forgotten spaces, leading to a new "direction" on the street. Acosta's project contrasts the sheer amount of information in the public space with the utter lack of poetry that makes one see the world in a different way. I say bravo.

Via Wooster Collective.

Street Typography

Street artist Eine specializes in big, bright letters on shop shutters. His colorful typography can be found in London, Stockholm, and Paris. You have to admire the simplicity and sheer audacity of his work. Bonus points for his sweet Care Bears inspired web site.

Via CR Blog.

A Picture Worth Five Stories

Street art from Sam3. Amazing.

Via Wooster Collective.

Passing Notes

I guess there was some excitement late Friday night at Shepard Fairey's opening in New York.You can read about the drama here. Or, if you'd prefer to just look at some of the new work Fairey exhibited, go here. Personally, I can't get enough of this Obey Currency which was passed around in New York leading up to the show (uploaded to Flickr by f.trainer).

Via Gothamist.

Remember Who You Are

The artist Chase believes childhood is the stage of life where we are nearest our true essence as human beings. The installations in this series are intended to get viewers to reconnect with their inner child.
    Personally, I don't entirely share his view that children are chock-full of love, joy, wonder, peace, and truth. Most kids lie with alarming ease. And kids are prone to sudden violent outbursts of the kind that would shock anyone who does not have kids of their own. Believe me, kids will go all Lord of the Flies on each other if left to their own devices.
    But I still like his message.
    Childhood is a time of joy and wonder. I absolutely believe it's a time when most of us are at our most creative. Every kid is an artist. Every kid is a poet. And every kid is willing to put ketchup on a peanut butter sandwich at least once. Maybe twice.
    We should be willing to be a little more silly, a little more daring, a little more experimental, a little more impressed with the people and world around us. There was a time when we all were.

Via Wooster Collective and The Art of Chase.

Folk Typography

Check out this great Flickr photo pool featuring hand-rendered street typography. Some interesting typographical interpretations, that's for sure. Photos shown here from Joseph Robertson, voodooangel, otherthings, and von brandis.

Via design fckr.

It's the Little Things

Sometimes a big idea is really just a fresh combination of little ones. Here's a mural from street artist Blu. Entitled What Are We Made Of, this gigantic 40-foot mural in Bologna is made up of hundreds of little people. According to Blu's site, this mural was completed in three days. Check out this detail (of the lower left section):

Here's a detail:

Now take one more look at the entire mural and appreciate it as a whole. Pretty wild.
    You can learn more about Blu and his amazing art here.

Via Wooster Collective.

Laser Tag

This is pretty cool.