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It was a spontaneous decision to visit Istanbul. I was sitting in a Hong Kong cafe with local tattoo artist Ross Dixon Turpin (co owner of Star Crossed Tattoo), he had been putting me up in Hong Kong for the last few nights. We were talking about potential countries to do street art in. Very enthusiastically, he said that I need to pay Istanbul a visit. He had traveled there recently with his wife and told me that this city is pretty much free reign for getting up. A few days later I was sitting in an airport bar in Seoul, South Korea with an Australian couple that had just traveled to Istanbul. They told me how alive the people are there, they spoke of its deep culture and busy streets with great excitement. They seemed regretful to be going back home. Days after this I found myself watching live Turkish music in San Francisco’s Revolution Cafe. The music was loud, fast paced and full of life, the women in the band were of Turkish decent and beautiful. I knew after these three experiences, it was time to book a ticket.

I find it generally easier to put work up in the streets during the warmer seasons so I booked my ticket for May. I had virtually no contacts there with the exception of a gallery I emailed, Mixer Gallery. Luckily I was to later pay that gallery a visit and connect with some of the locals.

I spent time watching documentaries on Turkey, Istanbul, and Syria. I had never traveled to this part of the world and found myself very nervous. Istanbul has a reported 99% Muslim population, it’s streets are filled with various left/right opposing political groups, mass amounts of Syrian refugees escaping the war, anti gentrification protests that lead to violent clashes with the police, emerging Kurdish insurgent groups along with a string of Al Qaeda attacks on Istanbul and neighboring Turkish cities in recent years. All of that coupled with the fact that I don’t speak Turkish gave me some minor anxiety.

I contacted a number of artists who had traveled to Istanbul as well as Turkish people who migrated to the Bay Area. After being briefed on what to expect, where to go, what to see, etc., I was put at ease. Aside from doing street art, I was excited to walk Istanbul’s narrow streets, enter buildings dating back to the Roman era, visit the city’s numerous Mosques, view it’s Byzantine architecture and eat it’s delicious food. I was still a bit nervous but very excited.

I planted myself in Istanbul’s Beyoglu district, located in the heart of Istanbul with easy access to all surrounding neighborhoods. Keeping up with the general theme of my work, I switched my color palette to an assortment of brick reds, browns and whites to fit in with the general colors of the city’s architecture.

Beyoglu is a neighborhood that is large in size and very densely populated with people. It’s walls are covered street to street with extremely well executed graffiti pieces. Literally thousands of pieces can be seen on every roller door, ground level wall, alley way and accessible rooftop. Finding it difficult to find open space in Beyoglu; most of my works there can be found in abandoned lots, on top of demolished buildings, on rooftops above local markets and in residential areas sightly off the more busy streets.

Just over the Bosphorus Strait exists Kadikoy on the Asian side of Istanbul. Kadikoy offers a variety of well executed graff pieces, enormous sanctioned and unsanctioned street murals and a very large street art scene. Unsolicited pieces done by the artists in this neighborhood can be seen covering whole sides of buildings, roof tops, freeway entrances and public parks. The artists here are talented, courageous, ambitious, defiant, and very open to collaborating with travelling artists. Thankfully, through the help of Mixer Gallery I was able to connect with local artists: Canavar, Oneson, Ares Badsector and Gevsek. They took me around Kadikoy in search of walls. One evening we spent the late evening/morning creating collaborative pieces all around that area. That experience made the trip for me, increasing my confidence in what I was doing there, as well as shedding light on the general dynamic of Istanbul street art and the artists involved in it.

In a city of nearly 15 million people that are up during all hours of the night, there is always someone around watching you. Even down the darkest and quietest alley at 5am, there are still people hanging out. This can make one very nervous when putting up work. What I learned in Kadikoy is just put your work up regardless, take your time to get it right and 99.9% of Istanbul people will not bother you at all. This gave me an increased comfort about the whole thing.

During my last days in Istanbul much of my focus was spent on pasting up work in Balat. Balat is a predominately Muslim area filled with a variety of new and old architecture, narrow uphill streets and a great public park along the Bosphorous. Many of it’s older, abandoned and nearly demolished buildings allowed for excellent placement for more elaborate pieces. The works I put up in this area can be seen on both building interiors, exteriors and remaining stand alone walls of some of the more demolished structures.

I believe that doing street art in foreign cities adds a unique perspective on the dynamics of that city’s culture. For me, a neighborhood has to be visited three times. One day to scout, one night to get work up and a third follow up visit to photograph and interact with the completed work. This allows for hours upon hours of exploring new alleyways, residential areas, visiting mosques, eating at local cafes and interacting with locals all while working. It’s a very rewarding experience. The perspective of getting work up allows for visits to areas that one may not travel too otherwise.

I’ve been back in San Francisco for just over a week, still recovering from my experiences in Istanbul. It’s always hard to reset after a trip like that. I’m curious to see what changes may occur in both myself and my work as a result of this trip. Travelling provides the ability for one to rethink their perspectives, potentials and see their own life and culture with new eyes. I’m excited to see what the following months bring as a result of this adventure.

I’d like to thank the following people for their hospitality and assistance: Nite Owl, Daryll Peirce, Evren Bingol, Utku Sahiner, Bengu Gun of Mixer Gallery, Seda Bingol, Sibelita, PEPE, Ares Badsector, Canavar, Gevsek, Oneson and Ayse Kapusuz. Thanks so much!

See other D Young V Travel logs
D Young V in Hong Kong
D Young V and Eddie Colla in Thailand

Press Contact: dyoungv@gmail.com
All photos taken by D Young V

BottleRock just took place this past week-end in Napa. We visited the festival grounds as final preparations were taking place to specifically see the art and were pleasantly surprised to find the artful presentations of the wine tents that dotted the grounds. This festival is truly a sensory event appealing to the five senses. The promenades were lined with food booths showcasing food prepared by Napa restaurants. There were several musical and culinary stages.

The art at the festival was arranged by Zener Schon Gallery, located in Mill Valley. While their name may not be familiar, they have been a driving force in arranging for art and artists at popular venues across the country like Outside Lands in San Francisco and Red Bull Canvas Cooler. They arranged for seven artists to enhance the visual experience at Bottlerock this year. Since we visited the site a few days before opening we found art by five of the artists. Learn about the artists and check out their online presence BottleRock Artists

Wine tents surrounded the sound stages with living spaces and wine to appeal to the wide range of attendants.

There were many food booths and a few food trucks. We liked one food truck in particular covered with art by Jules Muck of LA.

Show at Zener Schon Gallery

Zener Schon Gallery is honoring these artists at a reception and show titled Breaking Boundaries opening this week-end. Click to find show details.

BottleRock 2016

This peek at BottleRock this year was enough to wet our appetite for attending the festival next year. See you there. They are already selling tickets for the early worms. BottleRock 2016

The forecast read: Chance of Rain… bullshit! It rained for 10 of the 12 days I spent in Tokyo. The odds did not favor me: I was still nursing a fractured foot and endowed with very little knowledge of the Japanese language. By all accounts this trip should not have happened. Just arriving in Tokyo was a chore, as a vicious Tropical Storm rolled through the Pacific and threatened to strand me in Manila for an extra week. To say nothing of the overzealous customs agents at Narita who turned my luggage upside down looking for contraband. No drugs, just slaps!

In what was disguised as a coffee tour of Tokyo, Nite Owl slaps quickly multiplied across the city. While most of my time was spent shuttling between Harajuku and Shibuya, no district was neglected. Hopping between Temples, museums and sushi spots, sake was downed and whiskey glasses were emptied. Part time tourist, full time slapper! From Ginza to Ebisu, Akihabara to Tsukiji, Shibuya to Shinagawa: the streets and alleys between the Ku’s or Districts are now the new habitat of a colorful Owl from Oakland, California. Competing with the colors of the native Sakura blossoms during Hanami is not easy, but I made my mark and added more color to the streets of Tokyo.

For a society that is character conscious, the streets of Tokyo were desperately lacking that Kawaii factor. Aside from some epic Invader pieces the Tokyo streetscape consists of 2 colored fills, western handstyles and endless stickers. It’s no different than Oakland, NYC or Berlin. The streets read like a who’s who of international bombers. The 246 crew, BTM, D30, WGE, SMART crew, AF, 24K, BNE, MQ and so on… Japanese Kanji is conspicuously missing from the streetscape.

All the big names of the street art scene have made their marks here… DFace, Invader, Obey, Bigfoot, Buffmonster, The London Police and the list goes on . . . I was psyched to take my place in the Tokyo streetscape.

and of course I brought a few friends along with me…

Ramen, uber fresh Sushi, Nikka Whiskey’s, artisan coffee and seasonal mochi is how i filled my time in between slaps and posters!

Like the 17 flavors of Kit Kat which can only be found in Japan, the owl brought an army of character slaps and debuted a few new pieces on the Tokyo streets. I did my best to add some Kawaii to the streets of Tokyo. The Seppuku – Oru, based on the Ako Incident of Japanese History (the 47 Ronin) and a Gojira – Oru, inspired by hundreds of hours of viewing Godzilla movies found a fitting home in Tokyo.

Tokyo itself is quite surreal. Complete visual and sensory overload. The overwhelming sense of Order despite the endless crowds of humans. It’s like waking up in a Super Mario Brothers game taking place inside Disneyland crossed with a living Fetish museum. Fun all around, but trying to stand out in a crowd here…whoa. No small feat. No worries, I have color and cuteness on my side! I’m putting Hello Kitty on notice…F@$K your steez. the Oru is coming !!!

ha, the Oru is here !!! After throwing up close to 4,000 slaps I confidently feel like I am now one of the Tokyo Slap Stars !!!

Can’t get enough of Nite Owl? See his art in the SF Bay Area Nite Owl. Check out his photographs on Fatcap. Follow him on Instagram. You can buy some Nite Owl art, prints, stickers and occasional one off items like decks and cards at Chopsticks Urban Art

San Francisco has managed to be on the cutting edge of experimenting with new ideas. As we all know many of those ideas are high tech and percolated by budding entrepreneurs resulting in apps and technical products. During this plethora of ideas, a low tech idea was spawn, germinated and coined “parklet”. Five years ago the first parklet was created in San Francisco. Their count around the city has since paralleled the tech boom.

So what is a parklet? It is a small strip of 1 to 3 street parking spaces that is transformed into a mini park funded and maintained by businesses, residents and community organizations for general access and use by the public. Typically many are in front of host businesses that users are not compelled to patronize. The parklets are temporal in nature. They must be built at the same level as the sidewalk, be handicap accessible and made of durable material yet easy to remove, leaving no trace of its’ existence. Some parklets have plants, seating and bicycle racks while others are very basic.

We have passed by multiple parklets over the years while photographing street art but never given much thought to their design, vibe or number. Recently we wondered where the parklets are located and if they reflect the character of the neighborhoods they are situated in. Aided by the Map of Projects on a city planning site we drove to different neighborhoods to check them out. We discovered some had similar designs but different vibes due to the patrons and hosts. There are a number of unique ones that are not confined to the current “in” areas. No surprise, quite a few are in front of coffee houses and cafes and have seating for linguering. Following is a sample of parklets.

There are two parklets on 24th St in Noe Valley that were original pilot projects opened in December, 2010. This is one of them and is maintained by the Noe Valley Association

There have been three parklets in front of Luna Rienne Gallery on 22nd St at Valencia in the Mision District. The first one was constructed in September 2011 and was designed and built by Erik Otto with the intension of periodically constructing new ones. We happened upon the second one titled Head in the clouds by Ursula X. Young in 2013 and the current one built in 2014 by Brian Barnecio titled Misinformation. Luna Rienne Gallery has a page on their site for donations for this project.

On Valencia around 20th Street is a residential parklet. It has always amazed us that someone would eliminate their garage space and want a public park at the bottom of their front door. But then who wants to back a car onto Valencia and look at concrete. This parklet is all about the garden.

One of our favorite parklets is the one outside Four Barrel Coffee on Valencia at 16th St. This one has the most creative bike rack and sports high counters with stools and epitomizes the current tech boom in the city in look and feel.

The smallest parklet we discovered is in the Dogpatch on 22nd Street by 3rd Street hosted by Just for You Cafe. The DogPatch is a small area just beyond Potrero. It looks hardly bigger than one parking space. It seems very fitting and cozy for an intimate neighborhood tucked away in a somewhat remote part of the City.

One of the more unexpected creative parklets is in what people think as the staid Marina filled with residents who supposedly are counter to the new tech culture. Oddly enough the Marina/Cow Hollow was the hot spot during the previous tech boom where crowds swarmed outside laundry mats and Noah Bagels on week-end mornings. This split truck is “parked” on Fillmore at Filbert and is the only parklet in the area and hosted by Rapha Cycle Club. It is not surprising there is only one in the Marina. The open shoreline is just blocks away.

Around Folsom and 8th in Soma is a parklet hosted by BrainWash. There are lots of little alleys with residents tucked away in this former warehouse light industrial area. Soma or South of Market is where the tech and homeless lock heads. Start Ups abound and construction cranes are everywhere transforming this neighborhood as we blink. The look and functionality of this parklet totally reflects the area. You can park your bike and sit over coffee while your clothes wash.

On 11th at Harrison is a bright yellow stucco building fronted with a classic white picket fence parklet complete with picnic tables. This down home parklet is hosted by Butter that opens at 6pm and dishes up Americana food like corns dogs, tots and chicken nuggets with Karaoke on Sundays. During the day traffic is lighter on this street than others in the area which makes this a decent place for soaking up sun rays during the lunch hour.

There are currently two parklets in the Upper Haight. One is hosted by the Haight Street Market under a mural of Hendrix mural by Eon75, Griffin One and Doty. The other is at Haight and Masonic, hosted by Magnolia and has a rather streamlined look with one continuous planter.

There are four parklets along Polk Street, all hosted by purveyors of food and coffee. We stopped at two. One is closer to Pacific Heights hosted by Cheese Plus and the other one is in the Lower Polk around Eddy. The one on Pacific has more of a residential vibe with families standing around chatting with their dogs. The one on Lower Polk feels like a place where working people or folks passing through the neighborhood might stop for a while for coffee or a lunch break.

Learn more about Parklets

We did not make it as many locations as planned. Hopefully these photos will give you inspiration to explore other neighborhoods.

The City website contains all you need to know about the Parklet Program.
Pavement to Park

A map with the location of all the parklets
Map of Projects

Oakland has been undergoing a transformation caused by an overflow of displaced San Francisco residents and Bay Area newbies who are settling here during the current gold rush. This is not the first time San Francisco residents have settled en masse in Oakland. In 1906 the population of Oakland nearly doubled with the influx of San Franciscans who became homeless due to the earthquake, settling primarily in West Oakland. We wonder what the locals were saying then as the present day occupants are confronting increasing property values and rent that is changing the culture of their neighborhoods.

One of the neighborhoods that has most visibly changed is West Oakland. The residential composition is changing as fast as its’ physical appearance. In 1869 West Oakland became the terminus the transcontinental railroad and the connection point for the train by ferry to San Francisco that later crossed the bay via the Oakland Bay Bridge. With the railroad came the creation of the shipping yards. By the turn of the century West Oakland was a lively area with a diverse population of Euro and Afro Americans, Chinese, Japanese, Mexicans and Irish who lived in Victorian cottages and maintained small businesses.

Due to various economic and political reasons West Oakland over time became a predominately Afro-American community with some artists scattered throughout the area. Given its easy quick access to San Francisco that is one Bart stop away and the first freeway exit off the Oakland Bay Bridge, West Oakland is experiencing a renaissance. The once charming cottages and warehouses are being restored, apartment complexes are rising and businesses are popping up.

Last year amoungst this activity, one of the largest murals in Oakland was commissioned and painted on Peralta at 16th Street. Wrist, an international shipping company based in Europe with offices around the world established a regional office in a masonry building on that block. Since the exterior of the building was frequently tagged, the company decided to confront the problem with a mural that would reflect their business, the long roots of the neighborhood and beautify the block. They contacted Fuming Guerrilla Productions that had recently arranged for several Oakland artists to paint a mural on the Oakland Museum Woman’s Board Elephant warehouse in Jingletown.

Fuming Guerilla lined up Chuck Norman known on the street as Vogue TDK to design and paint the mural. With Mike Bam as his right hand man and assistance from some seasoned and budding artists the mural was painted over the course of several weeks. The two short sides of the building reflect shipping activities while the long side showcases various types of rail cars beginning with the black engine emblazoned with TDK and ending with a classic red caboose. Various TDK crew members were invited to write and paint characters on the cars.

While the mural was painted in September and October we stopped by several times to watch the progress and speak with Vogue and Bam and any other artists who happened to be helping that day. Some days we spoke with interns and other days we were surprised to see SF artists who occasionally get up in the Mission Alleys.

We learned that painting a train mural was a project Vogue had wanted to do for sometime. Seeing trains and painting on them is different from painting a realistic depiction of them. Bam, like Vogue has been painting on the streets in the SF Bay Area for years. He was grounded on the wall and not the train. He was tasked with learning about trains. He researched the people who originally built our western train system along with the history of their companies, what types of cars comprised their trains along with their purpose and the graffiti artists who were and are writing on the trains. Given this mural is located blocks from train tracks they did not have to travel far to study the real thing.

Since this mural was finished we notice that the train bug especially bit Mike. He enjoys taking photos of miniature cars that he and fellow artists have painted.

The mural is on the West side of the street East facing so the optimal time to visit is in the morning. Street sweeping day is Friday. If you visit close to dusk you will see the background colors on the walls reflect the sky colors at sunset.

Learn more about the Vogue TDK, Bam and Fuming Guerilla Productions

Vogue TDK
Bam
Fuming Guerilla

Imagery Estate Winery is an artisan winery with an artful presentation that imbues it’s entire process from vine to bottle to the final presentation at their winery in Glen Ellen in the Sonoma Valley. Only a 60 minute drive from San Francisco, it has enough to offer to enjoy a leisure afternoon of wine, art and fun in the sun playing bocce and horseshoes while savoring a bottle of wine with your picnic lunch.

Imagery Estate Winery was started by Joe Benziger, whose family has been crafting wines in Sonoma Valley since the 1980s. When he set out to showcase some varietals he had the good fortune of meeting local artist Bob Nugent who agreed to design his first labels. Those labels turned into 20 years of collaboration that has resulted in a unique art collection that fills the tasting room and is on most bottles they produce.

The logo for Imagery is the Parthenon. While not readily apparent it is included on every bottle label, piece of art in the winery and incorporated into the decor of several rooms. So why the Parthenon?

It represents Benziger courage and idealism – the ego strength necessary to stick to one’s ideals – while the dynamic way the Parthenon is pictured by the artists conveys the life force in the wine. In other words, the Parthenon, a balanced, classical structure signifies courage and ambition and sense of purpose – virtu, as it was called in the Renaissance – while the romantic way in which the artists render the Parthenon, or the exciting esthetic environment in which they situate it, signifies the wine that fuels the Benizigers’ pluck and integrity and idealism, that is empowers their sense of possibility.

– Quote from Bob Nugent’s book – Imagery: Art for Wine. Available at the Winery

The art collection now has over 200 pieces. How did this all come about with one artist and one label? With artist license granted by Joe Benziger, Bob Nugent had the vision to create unique labels that would be designed by artists in each of their own unique styles. The one thing that was to bring them together was the only requirement of including the Parthenon however they saw fit into their art.

While he was researching wine labels he discovered that another winery had done this previously. In the 1950’s Baron Philippe de Rothschild of France produced wines with labels by famous artists of that time period. He paid them with five cases of wine from that bottling and five cases of wine from his private cellar. Understanding the satisfaction derived by an artist seeing their art on quality wine, Bob Nugent pitched this idea to Benziger who agreed they would give each artist 10 cases of wine with their label. 20 years later this is still the form of compensation.

This took me back to a forgotten memory of a Mouton Rothschild Bordeaux bottled in 1970 with a Marc Chagall label that I received as a wedding present. We drank on it our first anniversary and took forever to dispose of the empty bottle. It was magic. That unique label will always cause you to remember the wine, the art and the memories of the sip.

The collection includes artist from all over the world, along with regional artists such as Susan Dopp, Chester Arnold, Gary Nesbit and William Smith. They are selected for their talent, not their notoriety.

Imagery produces at least a dozen wines every year that will feature artist images. They match up the images with the wines to best reflect the qualities of the wine. The images have been curated all these years by Bob Nugent. There are flyers in the winery about their program for the asking. Artists who wish to be considered for a label should submit a portfolio of original work (slides or CD), a resume, reviews etc to the Curator of Collections, Imagery Estate Winery on 14335 Sonoma Highway, Glen Ellen, CA 95442. Labels made in advance are not considered.

The portfolios are reviewed periodically by a committee. When an artist is selected they are informed of the few requirements they must meet and given no deadlines. The artist has free rein in creating the image in any medium as long as they include the parthenon in all or part.

Imagery invites you to bring your picnic lunch. They have a large open lawn with picnic tables, bocce ball and horseshoes. There is plenty of room to stretch out with blankets and take a short walk through the property. Dogs and children are welcome. If you forget your lunch you can pick up some great cheese, bread and deli foods at Glen Ellen’s Village Market right before you arrive.

Imagery Estate Winery

14335 Sonoma Highway
Glen Ellen, CA 95442 in Sonoma Valley
Tasting Room Hours: 10 am to 4:30 pm daily
Phone: 800.989.8890 (toll free)
Direct: 707.935.4515

Their site: Imagery Estate Winery
Their FB Page: Imagery Estate Winery FB
Learn about Bob Nugent: Bob Nugent Art FB

The creative juices are flowing in Oakland. A new glass blowing studio recently opened in West Oakland that is focused on fabricating water pipes, glass pendants and other smaller custom hand crafted glass pieces in a very creative environment.

Earlier this year Richard, the owner and founder of Acala Studios acquired space in a corrugated metal slump block building with a drab grey cavernous interior. He wanted to transform it into a unique workspace with art that would play an integral part in setting the tone and atmosphere of the studio.

Having viewed other glass blowing studios with artwork painted on their walls, Richard concluded large-scale murals would create synergy within the building. To carry out his ideas he realized he needed someone to orchestrate the artwork production who had experience not only with matching the right artists for the job, but also in managing the project and giving it creative vision. He discovered the Fuming Guerilla Productions website and their Instagram photo sharing site where he learned of their mural projects around Oakland.

By the time Richard met up with Fuming Guerilla he had formulated some ideas about the layout of the studio and felt a good starting point might be with laying down art on two large opposing walls. If all went according to plan, the center structure that was being constructed would have three additional walls for additional art.

Based on discussions about the business and Richard’s vision, Fuming Guerilla lined up Urban Aztec and Irot. Their styles are very different but the juxtaposed positions would provide an exciting counter balance. They were given a free hand in their subject matter and composition. Irot proposed to paint a Cosmic Shaman and Urban Aztec pitched the Aztec God of Fire. Richard immediately loved them with no edits and no compromise. They were precisely the direction Fuming Guerilla hoped for. 8 days later those walls were transformed.

The center structure was definitely more of a challenge. Fuming Guerilla thought a pattern of some sort might be a good choice as the walls in the center were going to be workstations and should have a serene calming effect. Also the two giant characters on the building walls needed to be complemented yet not detracted from the workstation.

Fuming Guerilla showed Richard some examples of landscapes and Richard particularly liked one by Jet Martinez. Jet pitched the idea of concentric circles as the background (sort of a high end wallpaper effect) with cherry blossom trees on top that was one of Richard’s requirements. The circles were intriguing as a subtle dual geometric pattern. Jet provided some examples of his work with the concentric circles as a background with flora and fauna on top. The concept was colorful and serene so both Richard and Fuming Guerilla agreed to go for it! The variance in color from red to blue to green also made an interesting and functional pattern for the workstations.

This brought them around to the last final touch. Since Richard and the glass shop manager, Suuze, both were instrumental in getting the shop together, tt seemed fitting that they have a little extra touch of art where they would be working. A whimsical fantasy piece was just the ticket. Fuming Guerilla had wanted to work with an artist named Analy Nakat for the past year but the right situation had not presented itself till this project. Analy put her own special depiction of a tree morphing into a deer skeleton (very Tim Burton’ish) with some additional cherry blossoms accenting the wall.

There is a small utility meeting room inside the center structure that required a bright eye opening mural due to its confined closed in space. Nite Owl painted a mural with bright warm colors to ward off any claustrophobic feelings.

The project was completed. But there was one last little idea. Richard was a fan of the artist GATS and Fuming Guerilla thought it would be fun to include a piece by him. While the inside did not feel right for his work, there was one spot outside on the roof that was perfect for a GATS piece. Fuming Guerilla contacted GATS and showed him the spot on the outside wall facing the entrance to Acala Studios. In another wonderful twist, GATS asked the artist NOBONZO to collaborate on the piece… and it’s one spectacular looking work of art.

On a final note. There is currently a mixture of street art murals and graffiti in the building parking lot. Some like this bird by Ernest Doty was painted while the Acala Studios Project was taking place but none of the lot art was part of the project.

Learn about Acala Studios, Fuming Guerrilla Productions and the artists

Acala Studios: Acala Studios
Fuming Guerilla: Fuming Guerilla
Jet Martinez: Jet Martinez
Urban Aztec: Urban Aztec
See art by Irot: Irot Art
See art by GATS: GATS Art

Street Art Throwdown is a reality show that began airing last month on February 3rd on Cable TV. It pits 10 artists against each other in various timed challenges with assigned themes under different physical and environmental conditions that street artists typically encounter doing legal and illegal art. The show is being filmed in the greater Los Angeles over an eight week period with a contestant eliminated every week. The winner takes home $100,000.

You might recall we posted a call out for this event a year ago for a casting company. We don’t know who responded. But what is known is that two San Francisco Bay Area artist took up the challenge and were selected to compete. Those artists are Agana of Oakland and CAMER1 of San Francisco whose art you have seen on the streets.

Now you can see their artwork at the show that opened at 1AM Gallery this Thursday. CAMER1 curated the show titled “Take Flight” featuring him and 6 other Street Art Throwdown participants. The theme is both literal with depictions of flight and a celebration of their participation as reality show contestants. Regardless of your personal thoughts on reality shows, they should be commended for taking the leap into something that is a controversial opportunity to stretch themselves and their careers.

Please check out the details for their show at 1AM Gallery. Take Flight

We invite you to watch the first episode of the season and the latest to become acquainted with their personalities and style. You might recognize Justin Bua who honed his skills originally on the street.

Season 1, Episode 1. Welcome to the Streets

Season 1, Episode 4 The Great Divide

With all the dry warm weather, it already feels like Spring in the wine country. Now is the perfect time to visit Napa and Sonoma to enjoy the blossoms and watch the vines bud without the summer crowds. This coming week-end is especially ideal to visit Jamieson Ranch Winery. Amanda Lynn and Lady Mags will be there for a Saturday midday reception for the exhibit of their show SubmergeD. There is also the added draw of the permanent installation of their impressive murals by emerging and graffiti artists.

The Winery

When I drive up the road to Jamieson I feel like Maximus Decimus Meridius in the movie Gladiator returning to my villa in Spain. Only in this case it is a happy welcoming and the villa resembles more of a home you might expect to see in Wyoming or Montana. The winery has an airy great room for tasting with several casual sitting areas and one by a fireplace. Outside is a wonderful wrap around veranda with ample seating. All is set up for lingering over wine and enjoying their sweeping views.

Fresh Coat

Along the south side of the building is their Fresh Coat exhibit. Fresh Coat is the name of their art installation of graffiti art by 13 artists from the SF Bay Area and beyond. Last summer artists were chosen to paint murals in their unique styles. There was a gala opening celebration to unveil the murals and raise funds for charities. The art is on permanent exhibit and will be periodically refreshed. There are cards in the tasting room for self guided tours with the artists names, mural location and very brief bios. At the bottom of the card is a link to the Fresh Coat pages on their website where more comprehensive information and photos may be found detailing this iniative.

On Wednesday through Sunday Jamieson has wine pairing with three seatings lead by wine educators. You may also opt for more casual pairing served on the veranda. On Friday and Saturday around noon one of their miniature horses (Molly or Whinnie) visits the tasting room outfitted to the tee down to the booties to protect both the hoofs and the wood floor. When the weather warms up they invite small groups to play music in the garden. You should check their Events calendar.

Wash your cares away, reduce your stress level in the sun and feel reborn and invigorated with a visual feast. Bring your children and immerse them in art.

Jamieson Ranch Winery

1 Kirkland Ranch Road
American Canyon, CA 94503
Napa Valley
Tasting Room Hours: 10 am to 5 pm daily
Phone: 707.254.8673
info@jamiesonranch.com
Tasting Room: Ext. 119
tastingroom@jamiesonranch.com

Their site: Jamieson Ranch Vineyards
Their FB Page: Jamieson Ranch Vineyards FB

I had just gotten of the plane and collected my luggage at SFO. It was a bright September afternoon in San Francisco. I lit up a cigarette outside the terminal in my usual spot and reflected on my last three weeks in Hong Kong. I had just taken a trip the other side of the planet, met loads of new people, had many new wonderful experiences and spent the majority of my trip putting up work throughout Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories. I was experiencing a sort of rush. Unlike most people who touch down in San Francisco, my thoughts were ‘Fuck, I need to get the hell outta here…again’. I told myself that as soon as I get back to my sweet flat in SF’s classy upscale Tenderloin District, I’m going to hop online and start researching a new city in a new country to get up in. It was mid September, I was hoping to depart SFO again in December.

I did just that. My first choice was Istanbul, Hungary…too cold. Then it was Berlin, Germany…too cold. Then New Orleans, Louisiana…not far away enough. Then it hit me, Bangkok, Thailand…perfect! Yes, it’s a stone’s throw from Hong Kong and I was just in that part of the world. However, It’s a completely DIFFERENT culture the Hong Kong, it’s pretty much a free reign city for graff and street art…and even more importantly it’s warm in December. I got a ticket for early December (Thailand’s ‘slow’ season). The ticket was only $800 round trip, so I clicked ‘purchase ticket’ and started gearing up for the next adventure.

A few days later I told my friend and fellow artist Eddie Colla about this new adventure, he asked if he could come along, I said yes. Now it was the two of us gearing up to double team Thailand. Thanks the patrons and staff of the Hemlock Tavern in SF who go over that part of the world for months at a time, I already had the trip planned out, i.e: where to get stay, what to check out, how to exchange money properly, what walls to hit and bars to drink. I was pretty confident this was going to be a good trip.

Upon arriving on Khao San Road in Bangkok, Eddie and I checked into the Dang Derm Hotel. We dropped our gear off and started scouting the local area for walls. This part of ‘Old’ Bangkok offered up several tight alleys, bombed walls and big empty lots. The following night we were at it, we hit all the spots we scouted including a sweet wall outside of the Happy Reggae Bar, found more spots and Eddie got caught by the local authorities. We were advised by artists that previously traveled Bangkok that in this type of situation that the penalty is to go to jail or simply to pay ‘the fee’ upon arrest, which amounts to $50.00 US. Thankfully, Eddie was let go with no penalty at all..not bad.

We had spent our days exploring Bangkok, photographing our pieces, eating exotic foods, visiting temples and even taking the dopest canal ride throughout the city. Our nights were spent getting up; hitting up everything around Khao San Road in a ten block radius, Sukhumvit / Soi 6 – 11, the canal, Chinatown and several spots along the Norarat Sathan Bridge before heading to Pattaya.

Pattaya I found, was a very different place then Bangkok. Its far smaller, but appears to be as dense in population. My short time in Bangkok opened my eyes to Thai culture, history, religion and even social interaction, Pattaya opened my eyes to what the sex industry can be when left unchecked. I was only in Pattaya for three days and experienced what only be described as an army of Thai prostitutes – perhaps even outnumbering their ‘patrons’. Several bars I walked by contained more bar prostitutes then bar patrons (like 5 to 1). This vast number of prostitutes is followed by a vast number of middle aged British and Australian tourists riding around on motor scooters…all there to support the trade of these young ladies and ladyboys. Its seems to me that Pattaya’s main import is simply prostitution. Of course, I was only there for three days…so I could be mistaken.

As usual Eddie and I got our work up as much as possible throughout the city, concentrating the bulk of it both inside and outside of an abandoned pool hall off of Soi Buakhao. This place was perfect for us considering it was next to the Target Regency Hotel (where we were staying). The building was in the process of being demolished, so anything we hit on interior could be see from street level in multiple directions. Its was a bit of a fun house for us.

After hitting Pattaya we spent a sweet three days on the island of Koh Samet to decompress and kick it beachside before heading back to Bangkok. On our final night there we continued in our fashion of putting up work leading to my final piece of the trip…a piece pasted upon the wall of an apartment building for police officers working at the precinct one block away. I had no knowledge of this at the time, but when a local cop came looking for me while I was hiding up five flights of stairs in this very same building, he told me the news. Thankfully I ditched my gear on the street. After a search, a passport check and brief conversation he let me on my way. The next day the piece was still there…I fucking love Bangkok.

Special thanks to Advanced Mammal, Party Pablo, Pete and staff/ patrons of The Hemlock Tavern for helping me plan this trip out…without you guys I would have been totally lost!

Meet D Young V

D Young V is a San Francisco based artist operating out of the Tenderloin. Much of his work revolves around the idea of a highly technological post – apocalyptic society. The world being portrayed is ever changing as the artist changes with every new experience.

See his art: D Young V
Read his interviews
Interview for 2014 show at 111 Minna: Diverging Styles
Interview in 2011: D Young V interview
D Young V in Hong Kong: D Young V in Hong Kong
Indoor art with D Young V: D Young V in the Lower Polk

Meet Eddie Colla

Eddie Colla is an Oakland based artist who is known for his wheat paste and stencil art. His art visually challenges the viewer to question their environment and thoughts on pressing social issues and to individually draw their own conclusions about how they think things ought to be.

See his art: Eddie Colla
Interview for 2014 show at 111 Minna: Diverging Styles
Visit his website Eddie Colla

In 2013 PG&E declared their utility poles on Oakland “gnome-man’s land.

There was a time we might have assumed everyone knows about gnomes, the diminutive little storybook character who over time spun its’ way into countless peoples hearts and minds through boundless storytellers. Gnomes are a West Civilization character who have been around since the 16th century typically living underground. Their name appears to be derived from a Latin term that means earth-dweller. In various European countries they have their own special names: Nisse, Nains, Tontti, Gnom, Dudje,and Mano. They typically are small folk who wear caps. The men usually sport beards.

In modern times gnomes have pseudonyms in popular fantasy literature and movies. They are Nomes in Baum’s Oz series, the earthmen in The Chronicles of Narnia and the Noldor in Tolkien’s writings. In the 19th century they turned up in gardens looking quite kitsch. About 15 years ago in the quirky French movie Amelie, the main character takes photos of her father’s garden gnome visiting the wonders of the world. Click on the link to see those scenes in the movie.

So what does this have to do with street art? In 2012 gnomes began to mysteriously appear in Oakland and of course you can guess where. They can be found in their original dwelling, albeit in a more urban interpretation. They are close to the ground in the urban forest populated with wood utility pools and weeds. That urban forest ironically is close by Fairyland in Oakland.

During the first year of their appearance they made the news with their story picked up by national press, including the New York Times. The artist who created them started with a few to give joy back to his community. He painted gnomes on 6 inch wooden blocks and attached them to the bottom of PG&E pools. What started out as a few blocks scattered around his Lake Merritt neighborhood grew apparently to over 2,000 in various Oakland neighborhoods. As the gnome population grew so did their notoriety. It escalated to the point where PG&E became aware and concerned about the integrity of their equipment and considered having them all removed. After deliberation that included public feedback they stated they could remain and declared the poles “gnome-man’s land.

The gnomes have been around for a while now so we asked Graff Hunter to sniff them out armed with the knowledge that they were reported to be around Lake Merritt, Jack London Square, Haddon Hill, Adams Point and 24th. As one can suspect these creatures are not easy to spot. You have to be on the lookout. He found quite a few. They look slightly weathered. But they are still intact. A testament to the community’s love and respect for these little earth dwellers.

Find the child in you. Go out and seek the other 2,000 plus gnomes. Happy Landing.

Learn about Graff Hunter

Graff Hunter has been a contributory photographer for several years. Read about him.
Graff Hunter Follow him on Instragram. Shiny Ink

The Lords 86 known as the Legends of Rare Design got together in mid January and painted one entire side of Erie Alley at Folsom in San Francisco with a theme they called The Frosty Lords. Two other artists joined them in the production:Skinner and Griffin One CBS. There are 14 pieces in all that are unified with snow and penguins. At the bottom are two photos of portions of the wall to give a sense of the size and scope.

This is the most snow we will see in San Francisco. Snow is a rare like the Lords.