The Black Von Scrolls

So after all the controversy Jeffrey Deitch caused by removing Blu’s mural for “Art In The Streets”, the exhibit is clearly hit - and probably just the blockbuster show MOCA needed to draw giant crowds. It almost looked like a county fair.

In saying that, I definitely enjoyed parts of the show, and particularly appreciated a lot of the historical photographs and information I wouldn’t have ever put into context on my own. I’m not a street art specialist, but I have always appreciated graffiti or urban art on the streets of countries worldwide. Street art, in it’s pure form, is democratic. It’s the ultimate use of art as communication; and reaches far more people than any artist in any museum could ever hope to draw.

“Art In The Streets” included all the pop-stars one would expect. But sadly most of the big names didn’t live up to their talent. I guess for this big splashy show, I was hoping to see some pretty monumental work. But how do you exhibit street art without the street? Well the 11 Spring Street show was pretty killer. But what MOCA let their artists produce was a recreation of the street via installations, and all the other work (graphic prints or photographs) was framed, precious and very much institutionalized.

But my biggest problem was the giant amount of props. Half of it looked like a Broadway set. I imagine this would be an environment small kids would love, but I thought it sucked. That’s not why I went inside. Perhaps it became a bi-product of giving these artists free reign?

Felix said he loved it. He thought it was great MOCA gave itself permission to fail. Well, it also gave itself permission to fail with the WACK! show, but neither of us gave them a pass for that.

Here’s some iPhone snaps:

Early illustrations

Random installation w/ an early Broadway advertisement for a street art musical

Spike Jonze video corner

Guess.

Banksy

Henry Chalfont, a favorite piece

Swoon… I really like what she does, but this fell flat.

Os Gemeos

Mister Cartoon