Tag: Skull

Thursday doors

Door 24

Door, 161 Essex Street, New York
Door, 161 Essex Street, New York

When I took the picture of this door last October, I was simply capturing an interesting image of street art on a door, nothing more nothing less.

It turns out that there is a lot more to this door that I had thought, which I only found out about when researching for this post. The door is the entrance to Clayton Patterson’s gallery on 161 Essex Street on the lower East Side of NYC.

This is Portal number 7 of an interactive street art experience combining technology, art, urban space and community called ‘13 Portals‘. The project team have created an incredible ‘gamified’ experience that encourages participants to complete tasks and unlock the knowledge of the ancients. The door used to have a QR code in the white space at the bottom that linked up to the experience website.

I’m not sure when all this took place, possibly 2017, but it all looks rather complicated to me. I was just interested in the door.

The artwork itself appears to have ‘borrowed’ a little bit from the Terminator films and combines a skull with features relating to the number seven. This is what the website has to say about this door:

‘The number 7 is Saturn. It is death and transcendence. It is the seven colors of the rainbow, the seven western notes and the seven days of the week. 7. Seven is an exceptionally powerful number and also one of the biggest keys to the mystery. Each color, note or planet, represents a different perspective that we can seek to achieve awareness, clarity and enlightenment. It is the metaphor for the different races and the conflicts before they ultimately find harmony.’

So there you have it, perhaps we shouldn’t simply take things at face value, even a door.

by Scooj

More doors at: Thursday Doors – Norm 2.0

 

 

 

1271. St Michael’s Hill (2)

This is not a new piece by Shab, it has been here for months, but it replaces a piece by him that was here before and which I posted in February 2017. It would seem that Shab has the permission of the owners to claim this spot as his own.

Shab, St Michael's Hill, Bristol, November 2017
Shab, St Michael’s Hill, Bristol, November 2017

I never tire of the abstract form that Shab brings to his work, enjoy the anatomical references he makes in his work, which recently has been the inclusion of an eye. In this piece he includes another eye and also the eye scokets and nasal cavity of a skull.

Shab, St Michael's Hill, Bristol, November 2017
Shab, St Michael’s Hill, Bristol, November 2017

This is an interesting piece and slightly off the beaten track. One for the locals.

1264. Ashley Road (17)

You might have noticed that I am posting quite a few old pieces at the moment. I tend to do this from time to time when I look through my files and see some wonderful stuff that I never got round to sharing. Sometimes I have been holding onto pictures where I didn’t know who the artist was, but that was not the case here. Somehow this wonderful Laic217 piece just got through the net.

Laic217, Ashley Road, Bristol, July 2017
Laic217, Ashley Road, Bristol, July 2017

A spider with a skull and an Adidas logo (disguising the word Laic) – it is all here and a bit weird, but brilliant and such a striking combination of colours. The biologist in me feels I should point out that spiders have eight legs, but that is probably splitting hairs. A Fine piece from July 2017.

1183. M32 roundabout J3 (55)

Regular readers will know how much I love it when ‘guest’ artists come to Bristol and leave us presents, and this is some present.  The work is by Eleduworks who was visiting from his native Barcelona and painting with some of Bristol’s best – Sled One, Sepr, Ments, Epok and 3Dom.

Eleduworks, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2017
Eleduworks, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2017

There is something very different about this piece, and it really sits comfortably with its neighbours. Another thing that is not obvious from the picture is the scale of this piece – the wall is about 14 ft high, so this really is an impressive imaginary skull. Love it.

1124. Dean Lane skate park (88)

Although Laic217 seems to be slightly less busy on the streets than he was say, six months ago, he is still producing regular pieces, which is great for me as it is no secret that I love his work.

Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2017
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2017

This piece contains the familiar format of a skeleton in a tracksuit sprayiong out the letters LAIC. The two components of the piece blend realy well and I love the color selections across the whole piece.

Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2017
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2017

He has sprayed this in a particularly narrow passage which explains why there aren’t any decent front on pictures of this piece. As always, a real pleasure to share his work with you.

1117. Dean Lane skate park (86)

This is an unusual piece to see down at Dean Lane, which is the home of Bristol graff, and yet here is a piece by a young illustrator, Clare Hoops. Clare is a freelance illustrator and print maker living in Bristol, having studied at and recently graduated from University College Falmouth, where I believe Louis Masai also studied.

Clare Hoops, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2017
Clare Hoops, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2017

Looking through her collection of designs from her website, I notice that I have seen one of her other street works at the Tobacco Factory before, and will have to try and dig it out to share. This is an interesting piece that certainly looks like it has the illustrator’s touch. What is the story here – ‘the stars fill my dream’.

1077. The Bearpit (98)

I said in my post about the rather unusual Upfest piece by Will Coles that I would write about more of his work that he left behind in various places in Bristol. This is the first of those.

Will Coles, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2017
Will Coles, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2017

The clever thing about this and his other pieces is that they are all disguised or camouflaged in some way and that most passers by will not see them. I only stumbled across this one myself, because I had noticed a new Mr Draws piece on the wall of the Gents, and looked up.

There is something funny about a skull with LOL written on it…I’m not sure what, but it tickled me anyway. More from Will Coles soon.

993. Dean Lane skate park (76)

Going back a bit to before Upfest, Laic217 sprayed this unusual and compelling piece on the curved wall. The black and white piece almost looks like a sketch in a book and he has very cleverly and in an understated way added a little bit of pink and blue to the wall in the character’s glasses giving it that 3D out of focus effect, which he has also applied to his signature.

Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2017
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2017

This is a classy piece and stayed a long while on a wall that gets sprayed over quite frequently. I haven’t seen much in the way of new work from Laic217 – maybe he has gone away for a while, or is taking a graffiti holiday…it happens sometimes.

Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2017
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2017

This piece combines the usual elements we expect to find in a Laic piece. He really has carved out a distinctive and respected style over the last two years or so. More old pieces to come.

947. Upfest (17)

Upfest this year hosted so many talented artists and they produced a plethora of really striking pieces. This one by graffiti artist Sonic Oner is a real eye-catcher, and a quick look at his Facebook page shows you what an extremely talented artist he is.

Sonic Oner, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Sonic Oner, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

It was a real challenge to take good pictures at Upfest this year, because of the very changeable weather conditions, and these pictures just don’t do justice to the amazing contrasts between the black background, the bright green and wispy white.

Sonic Oner, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Sonic Oner, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

This wasn’t the only Upfest piece that Sonic Oner did…he managed to find a permanent wall as well which I will feature in a future post. This really is an outstanding piece.

913. Bedminster

Another fine skeleton and flame piece from the inexhaustible Laic217. This time in cooler blues and less of the fiery furnace approach. This is a nice spot, and perfect for the kinds of works that Laic217 likes to do.

Laic, Bedminster, Bristol, July 2017
Laic, Bedminster, Bristol, July 2017

The tracksuit is rather special, and I guess representative of things that the artist is familiar and comfortable with. I wonder if setting fire to spray paint is something that people actually do for a bit of a laugh, but it looks rather dangerous to me.

Laic, Bedminster, Bristol, July 2017
Laic, Bedminster, Bristol, July 2017

Laic217 is certainly becoming more and more expert at producing an expressive skull, giving it a plasticity that allows expressions and maybe even emotions. The eyes here are rather good too. A nice piece.