Trespass: A Brief History of Uncommissioned Street Art

We have a soft spot for street art, so we’re thrilled to announce the official release of Trespass: A History Of Uncommissioned Urban Art — the fantastic new book by WoosterCollective founders Marc and Sara Schiller.

What makes Trespass different from other street art books is that it’s not a street art book. It’s a book that certainly includes street art and graffiti but goes beyond that to also address performance, protest, sculpture, and the whole goal of the book was to really look at the context of street art in a much larger historical perspective.” ~ Marc Schiller

Trespass comes from Taschen, easily the most visually ambitious publisher today, whom you may recall from the superb Stanley Kubrick’s Napoleon: The Greatest Movie Never Made. Which means the book is an absolute visual gem and photographic treat of the most indulgent kind.

From Guatemalan guerrilla gardeners to icons like Banksy and Barry McGee, Trespass is as much an exhaustive compendium of compelling artwork as it is a modern manifesto for activism, democracy and freedom of speech.

Brain Pickings has a free weekly newsletter and people say it’s cool. It comes out on Sundays and offers the week’s best articles. Here’s an example. Like? Sign up.

Graffiti Love Letter to Syracuse

In April, I featured A Love Letter For You — sign painter and street artist Steve Powers’s wonderful ongoing graffiti love letter to Philadelphia, stretching across 50 building facades along 20 blocks. Now, Powers is back with another love letter, this time for the Near West Side community of Syracuse, NY.

I made a very adult version of what graffiti is to me — and that is, a vehicle for projecting larger ideas.” ~ Steve Powers

Powers walked around the Near West Side neighborhood and all of Syracuse, talking to people about what they love and hate about their community in order to unearth the basic human truths that would inform and inspire his artwork.

What makes Powers’ work particularly noteworthy is that it bends the definition of street art in a number of ways — it isn’t uncommissioned and illegal, done under the radar of city authority, but rather sanctioned and embraced by the city in a collaborative context; nor is it the singular voice of a sole artist, but rather the choir of a community channelled through the artist’s creative point of view.

As far as I’m concerned, every city needs a love letter. Bravo, Steve.

Donating = Loving

Bringing you (ad-free) Brain Pickings takes hundreds of hours each month. If you find any joy and stimulation here, please consider becoming a Supporting Member with a recurring monthly donation of your choosing, between a cup of tea and a good dinner.

♥ $7 / month♥ $3 / month♥ $10 / month♥ $25 / month

You can also become a one-time patron with a single donation in any amount.

Brain Pickings has a free weekly newsletter. It comes out on Sundays and offers the week’s best articles. Here’s what to expect. Like? Sign up.

83,7 Kilo Ohm: Hug, Kiss and Play in Public

What kissing in public has to do with sensor data and Norwegian art.

In May, we highlighted several experimental sound and music projects challenging the definition of art creation. A recent discovery spotted at The Norwegian National Opera & Ballet in Oslo should be added to the list. 83,7 Kilo Ohm is a sound installation by German artist Erwin Stache. The project is meant to inspire people to play in public spaces, while interactively conducting a series of musical pieces produced and recorded by Erwin himself.

The installation includes a series of wooden platforms with a varying number of metal tubes that spring up from the base. When you touch two or more tubes at the same time, sensors trigger an array of music from attached speakers. If two people touching separate tubes make contact, they can create music together by holding hands, hugging or kissing — encouraging public interaction in the process of art-making.

Depending on the pressure, speed and location of the contact, the music will change tempo, tone, pitch and volume, making each musical creation completely unique.

See it in action below:

Brian W. Jones is a designer, etc. who moves often to embrace the inspiration found in new places. Last year Brian helped open PieLab, a pie shop and community space in rural Alabama, and now lives in coastal Maine helping organize Project M sessions, riding his bike, and writing about his love of coffee.

We’ve got a weekly newsletter and people say it’s cool. It comes out on Sundays, offers the week’s articles, and features five more tasty bites of web-wide interestingness. Here’s an example. Like? Sign up.

Street Knowledge: An Encyclopedia of Street Art

Globe-trotting via Banksy, or what 1980’s New York has to do with contemporary Iranian art.

We have a bit of a sweet spot for street art. So we’re all over Street Knowledge — a brand new encyclopedia and insider’s guide to street art culture around the world from King Adz and Harper Collins, tracing the evolution of the movement from its groundbreaking days in 1980’s New York to the bleeding-edge work of modern-day Iranian artists. From old-school graffiti legends to modern street art icons, including film-makers, designers, DJ’s, writers and poets, the book reveals the deep and lateral penetration of street art across just about every aspect of contemporary culture.

Street Knowledge features interviews with some of world’s most influential street art talent, including Banksy (but of course…), Quik, Shepard Fairey and the Obey crew, Martha Cooper, David LaChapelle, Tony Kaye and many more, in addition to an ambitious roster of up-and-comers from across the globe.

But perhaps what makes the book most compelling is that, by virtue of placing the featured street art in the context of the cities where it appears, it doubles as an underground guide to the hottest art, culture, music, fashion, dining and film spots in some of the world’s hippest cities.

Street Knowledge comes out in March 2011 in the US (but is already available for pre-order) and is out in the UK this week.

Brain Pickings has a free weekly newsletter and people say it’s cool. It comes out on Sundays and offers the week’s best articles. Here’s an example. Like? Sign up.