Art in the Streets

For those of us unable to make it to L.A. for Art in the Streets at the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, The Fox is Black offers an inside look at the opening, with much more content to come from what is described as "the most comprehensive exhibit of street art pretty much ever".

Inside Out: Artocracy in Tunisia

Fresh off his TED Prize win, JR has begun an even-more-revolutionary project titled "INSIDE OUT: Artocracy in Tunisia". His effort features a hundred ordinary Tunisians, posting their images where only those of dictators once hung. The portraits were taken by six Tunisian photographers in collaboration with the renowned French street artist and other international artists. Not surprisingly, the project has been met with resistance by many who either question the motives of the project or simply don't understand its meaning. Nevertheless, the photos are serving their purpose to promote a dialogue about the purpose and meaning of art in this politically volatile region. Read the entire article on Al Jazeera for a more detailed summary of the project and its importance.

Street Art with a Conscience.

Photographer/street artist JR transforms his photography into enormous posters and makes open space photo galleries out of our streets. You may have seen his work pasted onto the Tate Modern in London, or on a wall in your neighborhood if you're lucky.

But his thought process isn't limited to simply pasting big photos on walls, each photo tells a story and interacts with the human population around its' installation to provoke thought and hopefully, change. His work has recently led him to Africa to shoot women in post-conflict zones like Sierra-leone and Liberia, and is currently taking him to India and Asia to do the same.

I Guarantee No Disappointment

My LA readers will be heading to Thinkspace Gallery (that is, if they want to keep their street cred) to check out Mostly Memory, the dual show of Armsrock and Elbow-Toe, running through Jan. 2.

Tribal Beat

I love artist Lucy McLauchlan's primal, almost tribal style of painting figures and shapes. Her hard-edged, graphic murals and installations are almost overpowering yet intricate. Catch her work at The New Art Gallery in Walsall, UK.

Taking it From the Streets

London artist Sickboy has officially taken his art from the street to the gallery, exhibiting his work for the first time in a gallery (actually in a house set up within a warehouse) with his Stay Free exhibition last week.

But...How am I supposed to know what to buy?

As a fan of street art in general, I'm very excited by the work of London's CutUp Collective. They repurpose billboards and other advertisements by cutting them into small pixels and rearranging them, often into scenes of destruction or revolt. It's nice to see more conceptual street art being done lately, especially if it's turning cheesy advertising into something interesting. You think they would form a chapter in Orlando if we asked?