the best alley in Wicker Park vol. IX: winter wonderland

We've been slacking on the flickr updates lately.  This is not to say that we haven't been shooting pics, we just haven't been posting as regularly as we should.  In an effort to catch up, we present a series of pics from the best alley in wicker park taken over the past several weeks.  There's nothing like the clean facade that snow provides to accent the ever changing work.  See what you've missed over the past couple of months in our flickr set "the best alley in Wicker Park".

the best alley in Wicker Park vol. VIII

It's time once again to witness the carnage wrought by repeated bombing runs down the best alley in Wicker Park.  Scope out our flickr set to view for yourself what has changed since we last posted pics of the alley back in October.

the best alley in Wicker Park vol. VII

Though our pop up show 'Love Flows Both Ways: street culture x contemporary art' has been keeping us down in the South Loop more than we are used to, we still make the time to check out our favorite Wicker Park alley at least a couple of times a month because it's always worth the effort.  As we look back at the last month's activity in the alley, we are struck by Snaki's  'Waste Away Your Starry Nights', with it's visual nod to Van Gogh.  It made our inner art school geek smile.

Check out our flickr set here to peep all the great work that appeared in the alley since our last update.

stop motion graffiti

the best alley in Wicker Park vol. VI

Once again it's the end of the month, and time to look back at what has transpired in the best alley in Wicker Park over the past few weeks.  This month started with some drama in the alley, but this was overshadowed by some spectacular walls from Amuse and Momentumarttech.  In addition, Snaki brought some faces, Herts and Omens brought 'dubster', and someone painted dead cats.  Way too much great stuff to list (like this and this and this), so come take a stroll with us down the best alley in Wicker Park in our flickr set here.

it's time once again...

This coming weekend the international graffiti festival Meeting Of Styles comes to Chicago.  There is a great lineup of acitvities and talent for the three days (and nights) and it looks to be very cool this year.  Check out the event flyer with all the listings and keep an eye on the Meeting of Styles website for info and pics from its stops around the globe.

Bob Partington: the sublime potentiality of stored energy

Bob Partington is an artist who produces art and sculpture that often showcase his interest in technology and science.  He also makes cool videos that document his artistic endeavors.  We are particularly fond of three of his projects that all utilized spray paint.

The Paint Dart was brilliant in its simplicity.  It was a projectile that would stick to anything and delivered the payload of a pocket-can.  When the payload deployed, the can was triggered and would hang there discharging the paint, creating huge drippy trails down the side of whatever it was stuck on.  

With his Paint Gun and his Briefcase projects, Bob Partington took the use of spray paint in new directions and pushed the boundaries of the medium.  I won't waste time describing the works to you.  You'll simply have to view the videos for yourself.  They are stunning in their originality and their utilization of technology.  That briefcase is utter brilliance- and we really, really, really want one!


"Bob’s approach to art-making comes from his interest in energy, and it’s modes of transference: Energy moved in perfect conservation, or in complete chaos—as well as the sublime potentiality of stored energy, like with the charged battery cell or the can of spray paint. This pursuit has led him to explore a variety of materials and technologies that are not always consistent with traditional art making."  (bobpartington.com)

You can see more of Bob Partington's incredible art and design on his website www.bobpartington.com and view his videos on his Youtube channel.

the best alley in Wicker Park vol. V

It's time once again for the monthly update of our Flicker set "the best alley in Wicker Park".  Bender, the robot street artist, has recently shown up in the alley along with an anti BP political statement and a huge rainbow trout.  All in all, it was an interesting month.

See the entire set on our Flickr.

photo ops

Despite the heat, we've been taking a lot of photos lately and it seems that they are getting noticed. Our street art images have been featured recently by The Reader, Chicago Art Magazine, and Chicagoist, among others.

Check out our most recent set "land of shadows" when you peep our Flickr photostream.

EINE interview

Don't Panic has posted an engrossing interview with Ben Eine, the London graffiti artist who's painting Twenty First Century City was just given to President Obama by the British Prime Minister last month.  Hear this career vandal muse on topics such as: avoiding arrest, cutting stencils, and of course Banksy.

giving grades...

the best alley in Wicker Park vol. IV

It's time once again to take a look down the best alley in Wicker Park.  This month has brought increased seating to the alley, among other things...

View the entire set of photos on our Flickr.

Hebru Brantley's Hebru Glow

This piece by Hebru Brantley is certainly not new, but we only recently found the movie Brantley made of its execution.  It is fascinating to watch the piece evolve over its creation; something you rarely get to witness firsthand with street art.

See more Hebru Brantley work on his website www.hebrubrantley.com and check out his blog Whup Yo Kids.

Land of the Lost

We are not convinced that all the Banksy work in Chicago has been discovered, and we are constantly prowling new areas in search of it.  Recently our travels took us off the beaten path, and we stumbled upon an alley that has not been buffed since 2005.  Ever wonder what would happen if Mayor Daley's Graffiti Busters suddenly stopped slathering the city in monkeyshit brown paint?  Behold... 

You can view the entire alley in its overgrown glory on our new Flicker set Land of the Lost.   Its five years of classic bombing plus a few spectacular failures.  And be sure to check out our other sets for more recent street art in Chicago.

the best alley in Wicker Park vol. III

We have once again posted some recent pictures of the best alley in Wicker Park on our Flickr.  You can see for yourself how it has morphed over the past few weeks.

the best alley in Wicker Park vol. II

A recent stroll through Wicker Park's premier graff alley has yielded a variety of new work. Rather than post all the pictures here, we have put them into a Flickr set for you to view. In particular we loved the frenetic 1980's energy that is palpable in the detail of the piece above. Amazing!

Check out the best alley in Wicker Park on our Flicker set here.

NYC right now...

The current state of the Shepard Fairey "May Day" mural on the corner of Houston and Bowery as of 5/20/10. Thanks to Kurt for the pic.

Vandalized Banksy Graffiti Restored by Vigilante Vandals

The restored Banksy piece / photo by Billy Craven

On Saturday evening while talking with friends about the recently discovered Banksy pieces in Chicago, we came to the consensus that the most vulnerable of the works was "you concrete me". With it's quiet Pilsen location and it's cartoon word bubble being an obvious target, the piece seemed ripe for something quick and cheeky. Sunday morning we received a tip from our friend Billy Craven over at Blah+Blah+Blog that a local crew had indeed attacked the piece overnight. The result (seen below) was nonsensical, devoid of style, and overall pretty lame.

Defaced Banksy / photo by Billy Craven

Now we aren't the type who think every outdoor Banksy piece should be sealed behind plexiglass for protection, but the result of this particular attack left us feeling a little annoyed. Evidently we weren't alone in this sentiment. Yesterday Blah+Blah+Blog reported that a group of local street artists had taken matters into their own hands and restored the Banksy piece under cover of darkness. Cheers for the vigilante vandals!

Photos of damaged and restored Banksy courtesy of Blah+Blah+Blog.

Second Banksy in Chicago Confirmed

We just knew that there had to be more than one Banksy piece here in Chicago. We were beginning to feel a little slighted when we saw that Detroit, Toronto and Boston had all received multiple hits from Mr. B after his stop in the Windy City. For some reason we kept looking for "you concrete me" in particular, around the West Loop. As it turns out we were looking in the completely wrong area.

Local photographer Molly Kolecki, however, was looking in the correct area down in Pilsen and she stumbled upon the piece and posted a photo on her Flickr on May 13th. The Banksy piece is on 16th Street between Carpenter and Racine. The eyes are spray paint, the white bubble is not stenciled, and the handwriting is in oilstick. Now where's the next hidden gem?

Check out our Flickr for detailed photos of this piece and an additional unconfirmed rat that we believe may be authentic as well.

You can view this piece in the "outdoor" section of Banksy's site www.banksy.co.uk.

the best alley in Wicker Park...

There are many alleys in Chicago that are good for many things, but when it comes to street art in Wicker Park (and graff in particular) there is one that stands out among the rest. It is located off of Augusta Ave, between Wolcott and Honore and contains of a series of walls (some legal and others illegal) that are a constantly morphing showcase of graff talent. A recent walk through the best alley in Wicker Park yielded some fantastic new work.

View the entire set along with other Chicago street art on our Flickr photostream here.