Steven Powers

If you are anywhere near Philly get off Facebook NOW and go check this out. In West Philadelphia born and praised is Steven Powers new project "A Love Letter For You". It covers some 50 rooftops and walls along the Market elevated train between 63rd and 45th street.

Powers is a prominent sign painter most recently known for his work at Coney Island his Fulbright residency in Ireland and his penchant for spraying rollup doors under the guise of the Exterior Surface Protection Organization or ESPO as they pronounce it in the hood. For this project however Powers not only rippled the rooftop ponds with some wit and latex paint but started his own sign school and shop to provide training for area youth. I'm completely in awe of this type of local outreach and look forward to anything Powers-related in the coming months, years, and decades.

To read more about Steve's connection to the project and his trajectory from painting rooftops in '89 to ah, well painting rooftops in '09 read this awesome post by him.

This is by far the most inspiring public works project I've seen sprout up since I can remember!

Love Letter is an unprecedented public art project by Steve Powers and The Philadelphia Mural Arts Program. It is funded by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage through the Philadelphia Exhibitions Initiative.

ps. interviews w/ S. Powers are ridiculous. check this one out with LAB magazine.

Artists in Aarhus, Denmark

The Icons for Now show just began at the The Aarhus Art Building in Denmark and runs through October 26, 2008. Great new work by Espo, Blu, Zevs, and Herbert Baglione.

Beautiful Losers, people and places

Coming back i've noticed so many burnt out, shot up, squatted in, boarded up buildings. Especially as I explore my new neighborhood of Bed Stuy, one can't help but find the abandoned lots and homes. What happened to these places? What's still inside? Rats, that's for sure. But what type of shit went down in these haunts.

I just went and saw the new Aaron Rose doc, 'Beautiful Losers' and it's funny when Espo describes his first time coming to Manhattan. He said he just got off the JMZ in the Lower East Side and a cop car was on fire. Then he said by the time he got to Tompkins Square there were tons of garbage cans on fire. He then goes on to say that he knew he was in a place he loved. Even Cheryl Dunn goes on to say that tons of artists moved to NY in the early 90's because you could squat about anywhere. She says this as she sits in front of a photo of the AMAZE and REVS roller on Wooster where at one point tons of artists lived, but now SOHO is one of the poshest digs in NYC.