gun god go

We've had a number of people send us tips about these cheerleader stencils that have been popping up around Chicago.  For the record, no, they are not by Banksy.  The piece, Gun God Go, is the brainchild of internationally noted Chicago artist Ray Noland aka CRO.

We can't get enough of these ladies in black, as they conjure up memories of the cheerleaders we still lust after from that 20 year old Nirvana video.  Let there be no doubt that these faceless embodiments of teen spirit are the antithesis of those Nirvana ladies.  They eschew the anarchy signs and tattoos and raw sexuality of yesterday's counterculture for the highly charged symbols of our current right wing jingoism.
Smells like culture wars.

And in other CRO news, Run Blago Run has been making appearances around town again sporting some air yeezys.  Check out recent sightings on our flickr.

go big or go home...

Recently we noticed AOM bringing the doubleXL sized throw ups to an alley in Wicker Park.  Epic in their scale and tight in their execution, these gloriously drippy characters struck us as standouts in the genre.

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.

a weird day for Ben Eine

Ben Eine posted the following on his website on July 20, 2010:
"So it's been a weird day today, so weird that I've decided to visit my website.  David Cameron has given one of my paintings to President Obama in an Art Swap.  I've up loaded an image of the painting in the gallery section. thanks"

The painting to which he is referring, Twenty First Century City, was indeed included among the official gifts brought by the British PM to President Obama.  According to the BBC, Eine's work was chosen because the Prime Minister's wife, Samantha, considers him one of her "favorite artists".  In return Mr. Cameron received Ed Ruscha's lithograph Column With Speed Lines from The American President.

For those who may be wondering, Ben Eine is best known as a graffiti artist.  Examples of his street art typography can be found around London.  In addition Eine was the in house printer for Pictures On Walls until 2008, and was responsible for producing many of Banksy's most iconic prints.  The connection between Eine and Banksy extends outside the print house, and there is speculation that Eine was involved in some of Banksy's best known street work as well.

Explore Ben Eine's website einesigns.co.uk to view his work.
View Eine and Banksy prints on Pictures On Walls.
Read the BBC's complete coverage of all the Cameron / Obama gift swapping action here.

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.

yarn bombing

Recently we've been noticing a lot more guerilla knitting here in Chicago. We feel it's about time that somebody crafted Cosby sweaters for our neglected sign posts and bike racks.  The pictures above document recent work we spotted in Wicker Park and on Michigan Avenue.  After a little digging we discovered that this phenomena is confined to neither metal tubing nor the United States.  Yarn bombing hits everything from trees to a WWI tank, and has been documented in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. And much to our surprise, it's not just young hipster women who are doing these renegade street art installations.

Explore the world of knit street art on the flicker groups guerilla knitting and knithacker.

Read Magda Sayeg's knit graffiti blog Knitta Please.

Invesitgate yarn bombing and the creation of the first "knit graffiti" crew (Knitta).  Further information on the subversive undertones of knitting and correlations between knitters and hackers (yes, you read that correctly) is available at The History of Guerilla Knitting.

cartoon art imitates street art

INVASION OF FUTURAMA
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A recent episode of Futurama included the robot character Bender creating street art mosaics in the style of Space Invader.

Familiarize yourself with the invasion on Space Invader's website.

Banksy: hood rat?

It's no secret that we believe Chicago has yet to yield all it's Banksy work.  Surely there exists more than the three known works (the untouchables pram, the downtown rat, and you concrete me).  Our recent hunt has turned up a fake monkey, but we've seen nothing plausible as work from Mr B until now. Could this hood rat be one of the undiscovered Banksys in Chicago?

The hood rat is down on the south side near US Cellular Field.  It's large for a rat, standing nearly 25 inches high. It was first discovered by Chicago artist Hebru Brantley who posted a pic on his blog Whup Yo Kids.  We are not 100% convinced of the authenticity of this piece, but if this is a fake at least its a damn clever one.  Banksy or not, we like the hood rat.

View more pics of the hood rat on our flickr along with pictures of the other Banksy works in Chicago.

Check out Hebru Brantley's blog Whup Yo Kids and view his artwork on his website.

on the walk to work...

Tony Tasset: snow and eyes

Most days, we see one of internationally renowned artist Tony Tasset's sculptures on our way to work.  The piece (on Chicago Avenue, just west of Ashland in the display window of the former Goldblatt's Department Store) is titled Snow Sculpture For Chicago and is an amazingly realistic recreation of the type of dingy grey, garbage encrusted snow pile that is familiar to many urbanites.  "These piles of snow are sublime; both ugly and beautiful, like life" is how Tasset sees it.

Tomorrow (July 7th) marks the official debut of Tasset's latest public art installation in Chicago.  Eye is a three story tall representation of a human eyeball that will reside in downtown's Pritzker Park. It will be mounted facing the corner of State Stret and Van Buren.  We are excited to have something else to visit when we make our occasional treks downtown to view the Millennium Park sculptures. 

More on Tony Tasset can be viewed here and here. Read more about Tony Tasset's sculpture, Eye, in Abraham Ritchie's article on The Chicago Art Blog. Peep additional info on Snow Sculpture For Chicago.