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Joy Division-Inspired Street Art Around the World

By Alison Nastasi on

Thirty-three years ago today we lost one of England’s finest, Ian Curtis. Despite Joy Division’s short career and the singer’s tragically fleeting life, the influence of the post-punk pioneers is unmistakable. Curtis may have immortalized himself in the most devastating way possible, but fans across the world have done so through various tributes — like the street art we’ve gathered for your perusal. Fragments of the band’s album art and Curtis’ own somber image add a ghostly, poetic resonance to the urban milieux — and while we’re rather exhausted with the bazillion Unknown Pleasures copycats, we’ll gladly make an exception for these black-and-white sound waves on this day. … Read More

Art

Awesome Street Signs Commemorating Iconic Rap Lyrics

By Tom Hawking on

The little plaques you see all over cities like NYC that commemorate where famous people used to live… well, they tend to be rather biased in favor of long-dead white guys, don’t they? This is why we’re rather enamored of these hip hop-centric street signs, which commemorate a whole heap of New York locations mentioned in iconic rap lyrics, encompassing Jay-Z’s early days in the Marcy projects, the corner where Redman’s associates used to “sling rocks,” and a Smooth B lyric referencing “125 and St. Nick” (where your correspondent used to live!), amongst many others. They’re the work of artist Jay Shells, who posted over 30 of the signs all over the city — our friends at ANIMAL went and photographed them all in situ. We’ve chosen some of our favorites after the jump, and you can see the rest right here. … Read More

Art

Tatyana Fazlalizadeh’s Provocative Anti-Street Harassment Posters

By Julia Pugachevsky on

If great art is universal, then Tatyana Fazlalizadeh’s anti-street harassment posters are bound to become classic. After all, what woman — regardless of age, race, clothing choice, or location — hasn’t experienced the slimy phenomenon of catcalling? In a recent interview with Clutch magazine, the artist talks about her daily experience of being told to “smile” and the stream of other disgusting phrases tossed at her as she walks down the street of her Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn neighborhood. … Read More

Books

Books on Buildings: 20 Bookish Murals From Around the World

By Emily Temple on

As you probably know, we’re pretty big fans of literary street art here at Flavorpill. But when we caught a glimpse of this beautiful bookish fresco over at the Picador Book Room, we realized we’d been missing a whole category — street art honoring authors and characters is all very good, but how about the books themselves? After the jump, we’ve put together a roundup of fantastic book murals on buildings from Russia to Sardinia (and yes, quite a few from the US). Click through for some whirlwind literary travel! … Read More

Photography

Photo Gallery: More Iconic Banksy Images Recreated in Real Life

By Judy Berman on

Back in May, we featured You Are Not Banksy, a series of photographs that recreate Banksy’s most memorable street art pieces with real people. Less than two months later, photographer Nick Stern is back with the second installment, another excellent set of Banksy re-enactments that celebrate the artist’s Diamond Jubilee stencil, Pulp Fiction riff, Abu Ghraib commentary, and more. There’s even a shot that captures Banksy’s homage to Keith Haring — a tribute to a tribute. Click through to see the newest installments in the series, then visit Stern’s website to see the images side by side with their inspirations and buy prints. … Read More

Art

Sean Hart’s Bold Street Poetry

By Emily Temple on

Sometimes you can get across everything you need to say in a word or two — as long as those words are in the right place, and, if you’re French street artist Sean Hart, very large. “I am a poet,” he writes, “and my poetry is a weapon loaded with the future.” That may seem a little hyperbolic, but what else can you expect from a man who splashes bold existential statements wherever he can find the space. Though we love all of his work, his most recent series, Shine, which caught our eye over at CollabCubed, goes past his normal inscriptions to incorporate moving pieces, the walls painted in an eerie blue. Click through to check out some of our favorites of Hart’s work, and then be sure to head over to his website to see even more. … Read More

Art

Mobstr’s Sarcastic and Ironic Street Art About Street Art

By Heba Hasan on

Minimalist, black-stenciled graffiti art is nothing groundbreaking — just peruse Etsy and you’ll find a host of inspired decals for your laptop. But England’s Mobstr adds a new spin to the subgenre through sarcastic and cheeky sayings that slyly hint at the cliched nature of street art ca. 2012. Spotted on My Modern Met, the Newcastle artist’s work sets out to show the differences and similarities between street art and advertisements. As Mobstr explains in an interview with the Public Ad Campaign, “I want something quirky and different. Something which makes you smile, which makes you question, which makes you think…. even if it is ‘why the fuck is that there?’” Mission accomplished. Click through to see some of our favorite Mobstr pieces. … Read More

Art

Wonderful Green and Growing Street Art by Mosstika

By Emily Temple on

The streets of New York can sometimes feel a little cold and lifeless — so much concrete and steel, so little natural world — but eco-minded guerrilla street art collective Mosstika, whose work we recently spotted over at Visual News, may have the antidote. Their graffiti isn’t made out of paint, but built from living grass and moss, meant to be touched by passer-by in need of a little earthy comfort. “We believe that if everyone had a garden of their own to cultivate, we would have a much more balanced relation to our territories,” they write. “It is with this notion in mind, that we at Mosstika, aim to collide the worlds of art and nature, creating havens of unexpected greenery, within the colder harsher environment.” Click through to check out some of Mosstika’s best works, and then get to work infusing your own city with a little bit of extra life. … Read More

Art

The Sarcastic, Critical Street Art of Faif

By Emily Temple on

Barcelona-based street artist Faif, whose work we first spotted over at Beautiful/Decay, takes himself — and his chosen art form — with a grain of salt. We like his tongue-in-cheek commentary on the world of street art, the legal ramifications of self-expression, and the true symbolism of bling in all its forms. Plus, all sarcastic social statements and colorfully winking jabs aside, his work is pretty fun to look at, and we wish some of it was in our town. Click through to check out a few of Faif’s projects, and then head over to his Flickr page to check out even more of his work. … Read More

Art

10 Clever Web-Inspired Street Art Projects

By Claire Cottrell on

We love the virtual world as much as the next guy, but we have to admit, the sights, sounds, and feel good tactile fun of good ol’ fashioned reality often have us questioning the ungodly amount of time we spend online. Just last week the Singapore-based global conversation agency, we are social, posted a fascinating infographic reporting that collectively the world spends 35 billion minutes per month online. If that staggering statistic has you racing to book an unplugged retreat in a yurt on California’s Central Coast, then consider this us flipping the doom and gloom of an extravagant virtual existence on it’s head with a playful look at some of the best things that the online world has that the offline world doesn’t.

If you’ve ever found yourself wanting to “Like” something you saw on the street or wishing that super helpful red Google map marker would just magically pop up over the hot new back alley speakeasy that you can’t find to save your life, then consider this our gift to your overactive, virtually-obsessed imagination. From real world error boxes to an offline file sharing treasure hunt to statement stickers that let you share your opinion about stuff you see on the streets ala your favorite Facebook action, click through to check out our roundup of the street art movement’s answer to your plugged in prayers. … Read More