As you may have heard, New York's young artist community has been in a rather fast migration away from Manhattan for this entire century.
And so has most of its Street Art.
As the neighborhood of Bushwick assumes the role of new art nerve center (and hard charging, chatty hormone-infused bohemia), the Street Art that began in Williamsburg at the turn of the millenium is without question a natural companion for the trip. This weekend Bushwick celebrated its 6th official Open Studios program (BOS) and gave Street Art it's genealogical due as major influencer to the whole scene by inviting a number of the newer names to exhibit indoors for the opening party. Naturally, if not ironically, the streets walls had work by many of same.
Always in flux, the current Street Art scene reflects the players as much as the chaotic and diversified D.I.Y. times we're in. As the more designed multiples of Fairey and the repetition of Cost have given much ground to the highly labor intensive one-offs with a story today, you can see that this narrative style may have been set into motion by people like Swoon and Elbow-Toe in the intervening wave.
To give you a sense of the complex visual ecosystem that influences the fine art/ Street Art continuum in 2012, here's some eye candy from inside, outside, sanctioned and freewheeling that were on display during BOS this year.
We start with this new piece by Swoon that she did after her recent visit to Kenya. She incorporated drawings into the portraits of the two girls from an organization called 160 girls. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Swoon's reprisal of a piece we've seen in Boston, LA, and New Orleans - newly colored for Bushwick (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Relative newcomer Gilf! In the Garden of Good and Bushwick. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Gilf! does a stripped back road sign satire as part of the installation that she curated for BOS 2012 official opening party. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
The Yok as part of the installation curated by Gilf! for BOS 2012 official opening party. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Willow as part of the installation curated by Gilf! for BOS 2012 official opening party. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Sheryo as part of the installation curated by Gilf! for BOS 2012 official opening party. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Hellbent as part of the installation curated by Gilf! for BOS 2012 official opening party. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
ND'A as part of the installation curated by Gilf! for BOS 2012 official opening party. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Bishop203 as part of the installation curated by Gilf! for BOS 2012 official opening party. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
QRST as part of the installation curated by Gilf! for BOS 2012 official opening party. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
QRST in the wild. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Holy BOS! Housed in a former Lutheran church Bobby Redd Project Space invited artists to do site-specific installations in the actively decaying house of worship. Artists included Abel Macias, Andrew Ohanesian, Ben Wolf, Billy Hahn, Brian Willmont, Don Pablo Pedro, James Keul, Peter Bardazzi. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Holy BOS! @ Bobby Redd Project Space: Don Pablo Pedro (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Holy BOS! Holy peeling paint! @ Bobby Redd Project Space (photo © Jaime Rojo)
The backyard space @ Bobby Redd Project Space had this flowing installation by Phoenix entitled "Bushwick Forest" (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Holy BOS! @ Bobby Redd Project Space: Phoenix. "Bushwick Forest" Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
An entrance @ Bobby Redd Project Space featured Street Artist Deeker with a background by David Pappaceno. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Bobby Redd Project Space: Deeker with background by David Pappaceno. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Cassius Fouler @ Bobby Redd Project Space (photo © Jaime Rojo)
DarkClouds @ Bobby Redd Project Space (photo © Jaime Rojo)
A street installation by an Unknown artist. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jim Avignon in Bushwick (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Street Artist Specter is also a conceptual artist and sculptor. He painstakingly hand-painted this Bodega facade as an homage to the New York street scenes that are disappearing. Bushwick's 5 Points Festival. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
A collaborative mural by Sheryo, The Yok and Never at Bushwick 5 Points Festival. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Sheryo stands on a sketch. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Set KRT and Cost at Bushwick 5 Points Festival. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Priscila de Carvalho, Maria Berrio and Miariam Castillo. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Klub7 at Bushwick 5 Points Festival. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Daek1 at Bushwick 5 Points Festival. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
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This article was also posted on Brooklyn Street Art.
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