The troops arrived in Tirana with puffy eyes and stinky armpits. 18 hours and nearly 3000 air kilometers to cover a distance of 1425 km. It reminded me of the time Delta tried to send me from NY to Cleveland via Houston, Nashville and Buffalo. 18 hours to travel the distance of two.
I knew I was going to Albania. I had no idea that I would also be paying my first visit to Istanbul. It was only a layover, but a long one. We watched the sun come up and drove across the city, drank Turkish coffee and struggled to stay awake.
Fortunately there wasn't much turbulence and the length of the journey added to an enthusiastic spirit by the time we touched down in Tirana.
You can get much more in the NoNewEnemies feature.
'Unless a life is lived for others, it is not worthwhile.' - Mother Theresa
Day two in Tirana and everybody wakes up early. There's work to do. Find some paint, rollers, buckets and extensions, borrow or buy ladders (and in my case clean socks). Print some photographs to show people more or less what you'd like to paint on their wall and start hustling. Within a couple of hours all of the guys are out hunting walls and many people are looking at us like we're nuts. They are understandably skeptical about why somebody would be volunteering to work for free. I guess you can be a Tom Sawyer hucked into doing it or you can be a sort of Mother Theresa and make a bold stance. As always, there is a third way and that's the one we're on. Nobody is being conned and nobody is being holy. Give to get and the more we give the more we get. I didn't even realize that Mother Theresa was in fact Albanian and grew up a few blocks from our hotel, until a search for a wall took us into a small and predominantly Muslim neighborhood. I am constantly reminded by how little I know. Often it is kids who call this to my attention.
We just read the unbelievably fucked up news (a few days late) that the advertising hacker, Poster Boy from NYC, was just sentenced to 11 months at Rikers Island for his actions. He forgot to show up to his court date after being arrested for his interventions that hurt no one except the wallets of the MTA. He came in the next day to apologize and face up to his actions, and they immediately took him to the penitentiary for the weekend where they sentenced him to 11 months behind bars. I would find it hard to believe that they're making an example of him as a person who didn't show up to his court date as much as they are for him getting attention for his artwork and activism. It's fucking unbelievable that the US prison is supported by billions of dollars a year to have nearly 1 in every 100 American adults in jail. But it's not really that unbelievable since with billions of dollars that means it's a massive business, and one that has especially little to do with ethics or reason. I wonder how many posters will turn over during the 11 months he's in jail? How much money they will they make during that ime? And how much it will cost to keep him behind bars? Free Poster Boy. (via Animal New York)
The Operation that started with no real mission was a success. As we've been reporting to you The London Police, Morcky Troubles, Ripo, Swanski, Dxtr, and Peach Beach just spent a little under a week painting the streets of Tirana, Albania and sharing experiences and exchanges with everybody they met. And by the end of the trip this meant everybody from shop owners, politicians, TV hosts, other artists, street kids, some achingly beautiful women, and luckily no police. Here are a selection of some of the final works, but be sure to check the final Operation Tirana post on No New Enemies. And read back on part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, and part 5. Photos thanks to Alexander Malecki.
Opera Gallery in NYC will be opening up the three-person show with this great line up tomorrow, Wednesday May 19th. Logan Hicks made this video to discuss a bit about the work he's going to be showing. We've seen him go from simple technical mastery to really discussing issues of his own life and the urban situation in general. If you're in NYC this will be one not to miss.
Jeremy Fish has landed in Germany and already taken over the Arty Farty Gallery in Cologne. His show, 'The Road Less Traveled,' has filled the space with all new works as well as a mural piece. That show will be up until June 26th. The Gallery also is celebrating its first birthday. Congratulations guys! If you missed that opening last Saturday you still have time to make it up to Hamburg for his next installment at the heliumcowboy artspace on May 29th.
Conquistadores is the newest show organized by Maximiliano Ruiz. Together with Strychnin Gallery in Berlin they have put together an exhibition of 30 artists from Latin and Spanish origins including Herbert Baglione, Fefe Talavera, Saner, San, Gualicho, Basco Vazko, and plenty more. We've got a few of our favorite pics from the opening and the artwork here. The show is open now and will stay on view through June 6th.
A few weeks back we received a nice email from Hyuro, an Argentinean artist who has been living between Barcelona and Valencia now for the past 10 years. While she has been making art all of her life it's only been in the past year or so, primarily under the guidance of Escif, that she's discovered the impact of putting her work on walls and the direct interaction it can have with the public. The results have been delicate and strong and she's already begun to get quite a bit of attention. We've selected of a few photos she sent us and you can see more on her flickr page here.
Jeremy Fish has been on his "Road Less Traveled Tour" while meanwhile back in Hamburg heliumcowboy artspace has been busy preparing their brand new exhibition space. Jeremy will be opening the inaugural exhibition there this Saturday, May 29th (8-11pm). Check out the report about the opening, the new space, and a few of the new works that will be on display over at No New Enemies. Also check directly at heliumcowboy's website for updates.
Prune's artwork has been studying the strange relationships between procreation, children, science, and art for awhile now. Her latest project, "Le Diner Procreatif," has gone one step further to include gastronomy in the mix and has got to be one of her most complete, and also creepiest, projects to date. Check the video and check out her website to see more: www.prune-art.com.
This summer in Atlanta there will be a major conference on Urbanism, the CNU18, bringing academics, government officials, and developers together to discuss various urban planning issues. It sounds great in theory but leaves out the voices of the people and communities living in the city. Living Walls: The City Speaks will be an important counter-conference held at the same time, free of charge, and open to the public. It will focus on the connection between street art and the community and will be bringing in artists from all over the country, and hopefully the world, to participate in this action. But as it's a grassroots project with little support from the city or other organizations it desperately needs your help to raise funds to make this happen. Watch the video and more importantly visit their website to learn more about it and donate to help make this happen: livingwallsconference.com.
We want to say Thank You to Castle Magazine for their write up about the first Modart Book! You can download the newest issue of Castle Magazine (#17) now from their website: www.castlemagazine.de
Morcky Troubles will be opening his newest exhibition, as well as a book release, this Saturday, May 29th at Matherkunst/Andenken Gallery in Amsterdam. We saw him create some amazing walls in Tirana, Albania recently and he's been busting his ass on this show since. Don't miss.
Kid Acne's show "Ois' Easy" is still up at Helmet Gallery until June 5th and we just got a nice video in the old emailbox from the set up and opening. Nice tunes, gallery rooms, straight lines, and good times. Check out more at helmet-gallery.com and kidacne.com
This Sunday, May 30th the newest batch of Secret Stash shirts will all be gone. Before that happens check them out for yourself. There are five new designs by Jim Mahfood, Jim Koch, Ken Keirns, The Tree House Press, and Angry Face. www.premiumstash.com
