Metamorphosis

Hastings Online Times Original interview here

St. Leonards based street artist Drew Copus’ first solo show, Metamorphosis is showing now at The Dragon Bar, 71 George Street TN34 3EE Hastings.  HOT’s Rebecca Snotflower and Andy Tompkins ask him 12 very important questions.

You may well recognise the butterfly motif stencil drawings on display within the exhibition from the walls along your daily routes around the town. The pieces look like they have been stolen from the landscape of Hastings, as they sit on their reclaimed wooden surfaces, collectively displayed in the bar by some kind of crazy graff-loving entomologist. Some pieces include a symmetry of lines and shapes, which make me think of the mathematical arrangements behind seemingly chaotic natural structures… obviously I don’t think about it too hard, it makes my brain ache. The exhibition as a whole has an unmistakable DIY glamour – and a heap of punk attitude.

C215 (see his Stenicil Archive here)
Nina je t'aime

September 13 - October 4, 2014
White Walls is pleased to present the new work of Parisian stencil artist, C215, in his third solo exhibition with the gallery titled Nina je t’aime.

"C215's art captures a light, depth, and humanity that is difficult, and rare using stencils, his chosen medium. Stencils tend to flatten images and make them static, but C215 has developed a style of illustrating and stenciling that yields an impressionistic illumination of his subject's character." 

Back in 2008, the Everfresh crew offered piles of hospitality for me when I visited Melbourne for the Stencil Nation tour. They also fed me pizza and beer. In the history of modern stencilism, Everfresh was at the nexus of using the tool as a new form of expression and art. Their site stencilrevolution.com went live just after Stencil Archive and instantly had hundreds more photos due to Everfresh's better design skills. If any of these artists show in your city, please support their art and offer them some food and beer. - R.

OPEN STUDIO

Sep 6, 12-5pm

5 Perry St, Collingwood

It's been a long while since we have written, we've been a little busier than usual but Everfresh Studio are excited to announce we're back in Collingwood!

Late last year we became homeless for the first time in our 10 year history. Luckily we had help from a few friends and were able to find a temporary home down in Abbotsford by the river, so we packed up 10 years worth of stuff and away we went.

Some BART riders may be reluctant to report crimes because they don’t want to draw attention to themselves. That’s why on Thursday, officials from the transit agency unveiled BART Watch, a free app that lets users discreetly report crimes on trains.

“It’s an app that is sort of like texting police,” said BART spokeswoman Alicia Trost.

The app lets users take a picture or send a text to BART police rather than call 911 or rush over to an intercom at the end of a train, something that BART officials said riders often won’t do out of fear for their safety.

The app is available for iOS and Android devices and works in English, Spanish and Chinese, Trost said.

Stencil Archive just got an upgrade!

Woah. Do things look different around here? Can I now bookmark Stencil Archive on my mobile browser home screen and click anytime to enjoy the latest and greatest in negative space? Has everything changed?

Many questions with a few easy answers. Welcome to the latest version of the Stencil Archive, including all the fresh content you've grown to love over the years but with a new look. The site is now responsive, which is techy speak for "you can open in up on your iOS or Android device and flick around the site." Try it horizontal or vertical! Only the look and response to where you're looking has changed.

Yes you can bookmark the site to your mobile home screen. The site even has a new version of the logo for the icon. For iOS just follow these steps: 

1. Go to the page you want to save. 
2. Click on the bottom middlemost button, the one with the arrow shooting out of the box
3. Click on "ADD TO HOME SCREEN" on the popup box

And NO NO NO.... there won't be any pop up/drop down pages asking for your email (or showing ads), kickstarters, indigogos, personal info collecting and sales, mbedded/wiggly ads, useless clickbait, or other crappy money-making schemes. If you wish to support the site, a simple donation will do (see the s/tour page for ways to contribute). 

And YES YES YES.... please submit photos, links, videos, gallery openings and anything stencil-related. Here's to another 12 years of stencil fun.

Third World Press Collective just had a great talk with sometimes-stencil artist Melanie Cervantes. Melanie and her husband Jesus Barraza crank out amazing political posters for many great causes. Years ago, Jesus told me that he learned how to screen print from old school printers who called the screens "stencils" (and acutally used stencils to occasionally put the image on the screen). I first met Melanie while photographing her stencils at the old Counterpulse space.

"Brown & Proud" by Melanie Cervantes and Jesus Barraza (Stencilada 2009)

Feminist Fistbumps: Artist Melanie Cervantes Discusses Art as Decolonial Activism

Happy Monday! This week we move the arts conversation from the East coast (remember Maribel and Cristy, who are living in Brooklyn?) back to the West coast! Here is our latest interview with California-based artist Melanie Cervantes, who donated a fierce piece to the online art auction that was curated by Chris Davila in December.   

Third Woman Press Collective (TWPC): Melanie, we know you’re really busy, and we thank you for joining us this week. Let’s start off by talking about your group, Dignidad Rebelde. Can you tell us a little more about it?

Melanie Cervantes (MC):  Sure! Dignidad Rebelde is a collaborative space for building community and producing art. We believe that art can be an empowering reflection of community struggles, dreams and visions. Following principles of Xicanisma and Zapatismo, we create work that translates people’s stories into art that can be put back into the hands of the communities who inspire it.