I just got this announcement rom the Stay Gold Gallery - it's a film screening and installation on street art:
OPEN AIR
Street Art Documentary DVD Release and Exhibition
June 23rd, 2006
7-11pm
Stay Gold Gallery is pleased to present the DVD release of Open Air, a documentary produced by Alyssa Natches and Lou Auguste about contemporary street artists, which will be presented in conjunction with an exhibition of new works by Michael De Feo, Faile, Skewville, Dan Witz, and Tiki Jay-One, all of whom are featured in the film. The opening reception will be held Friday, June 23rd, and the exhibition will continue through July 9th.
Alyssa and Lou were driven to produce Open Air out of their desire to achieve greater public understanding of an art form that is inherently wrought with contradictions. The fundamental disagreement between those that think of street art as vandalism and those who see it as a valid art form has become only more clouded as street art has grown to encompass much more than just spray-painted graffiti. The artists featured in the film demonstrate the range of forms that street art can take: from concrete castings and wood constructions to stencils and wheat pastings.
These artists also challenge the assumption that they are always working in opposition to the law. In fact, contemporary street artists are increasingly casting themselves in roles more akin to peoples advocate than public nuisance. As the film reveals, many seek to recapture the use of public space from big businesses whose quest for advertising opportunities has increasingly encroached on what was once publicly owned. On the other hand, much of this work that is placed deliberately in the public domain is still used unabashedly for the purpose of self-promotion.
Stay Gold Gallery
451 Grand Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211
718.599.7778
Gallery Hours
Fri. 1-4pm
Sat. & Sun. 12-5pm