Eviction night at City Hall. Occupy LA was forced out by a small army of heavily armed para-militarized local police force. In this image a young man and his little doggy fearfully await the inevitable of being shot by a police officer using a shotgun at a lethal close range. From what I heard the man was injured. Apparently the LAPD denies this but hey whose watching when the media they allow on the premises was carefully selected. Some of the signs displayed on the Occupy LA Tree Fort were pieces from my OccupyFlag project. This simple image amazingly depicts the overall discussion of extremely heavy handed violent measures executed by police to crush a peaceful display of the 1st Amendment rights nation wide. Welcome to our U.S. of police state…………

It’s that time of year: the time when everyone is dropping their two cents on what they liked and didn’t like this year. Of course, we have some opinions–especially when it comes to what’s happening in the art world. Today through Wednesday (our last working day of the year!) we will be sharing our thoughts on “bests.” Today: our thoughts on art happening in Los Angeles for 2011 (in no particular order).

Read more: Los Angeles, I’m Yours

It’s time for year in review posts, and while there are certainly more than a few everywhere on the web…

Read more: LAist

For a city with a moratorium on murals, the art form managed to be in the public eye in 2011. Street art took its place alongside traditional works, vintage works were restored, policy and enforcement were being questioned–all while ordinances that stopped new mural works from going up on private walls were being reviewed.

If you are not saddled with year-end list fatigue, here’s a timeline of some mural stories from the year.

Read more: KCET Departures

Yes, year-end lists. Not even street art is exempt. But hey, 2011 was a banner year for the Los Angeles street art and graffiti communities, as they enjoyed plenty of worldwide attention. LA Weekly put together the ten L.A.-related street art and graffiti stories that we think were most remarkable in 2011.

Read more: LA Weekly

L.A.’s murals are believed to outnumber those in every other city in the world with numbers ranging in thousands. With influence from the punk, hip hop, and skate scene a new street culture was born that fueled a new generation of artists. Artists like SABER, SWOON, KID ZOOM, ROA, HOW & NOSM, KOFIE, D*FACE, CR, RIPO, INSA, BECCA, Thank You X, LADY AIKO, JR, and Shepard Fairey having all tattooed L.A. with murals that redefine the word “graffiti.”

Read more: Frank 151

Source Magazine- SABER

This is a photo of the LAPD removing part my #OccupyFlag during their eviction of #OccupyLA

photo by LUCY NICHOLSON/REUTERS

Please join us for a very special evening at Known Gallery with LA City Planner, Tanner Blackman for an update and group discussion on LA’s potential New Mural Ordinance.

Immediately following Tanner’s update, we will be discussing public art, murals, and community expectations for the new draft ordinance to be presented to City Council for approval.The discussion will feature Isabel Rojas Williams, Executive Director the Mural Conservancy of LA and Daniel Lahoda as Founder of the LA Freewalls Project. The discussion will be moderated by Piper Severance, Manager of SaberOne Studios.

This discussion is imperative to anyone who is working in the streets, or interested in Public Art. Please come and make your voice heard!

THE UNDERBELLY SHOW
Private View 30th November or by appointment
General Opening 2nd December 8-10 pm
Open to the public 2nd December – 5th December
South Beach Miami

8 November- After a full year underground, The Underbelly Project is resurfacing this December in Miami during Art Basel. Presented in its own pop up gallery from 1 December – 5 December, the show will feature original artwork from many of the 103 international artists that participated in the hidden subway project. This exhibition will highlight the essence of the abandoned New York City station known as the Underbelly.
Workhorse has stated: “The New York Underbelly was an important chapter for us, but the story hadn’t been comprehensively told. The Underbelly Miami show gives us a chance to present the broad scope of documentation – Videos, photos, time-lapses and first hand accounts. The project is about more than just artwork. This show gives us a chance to show the people and the environment behind the artwork“

PAC has stated: “While the experience each artist had in their expedition underground can never be captured, it is my hope that this show will highlight some of the trials and tribulations associated with urban art taking place in the remote corners of our cities. Too often the practice of making art in unconventional venues remains shrouded in mystery and I hope this exhibition will shine a faint light on those artists who risk their safety to find alternative ways to create and be a part of the cities they live in.”

Included in the show are street, graffiti and fine artists alike. The full line-up of artists include: Faile, Dabs & Myla, TrustoCorp, Aiko, Rone, Revok, Ron English, Jeff Soto, Mark Jenkins, Anthony Lister, Logan Hicks, Lucy McLauchlan, M-City, Kid Zoom, Eric Haze, Saber, Meggs, Jim & Tina Darling, The London Police, Sheone, Skewville, Jeff Stark, Jordan Seiler, Jason Eppink and I AM, Dan Witz, Specter, Ripo, MoMo, Remi/Rough, Stormie Mills, Swoon, Know Hope, Skullphone, L’Atlas, Roa, Surge, Gaia, Michael De Feo, Joe Iurato, Love Me, Adam 5100, and Chris Stain.

Fashioned to simulate the rawness of the abandoned station four stories beneath the bustle of New York City, the exhibit will attempt to capture the experience of artists’ that were invited leave their creative mark four stories beneath the city streets. The show will feature video footage of artists at work, still documentation, as well as recorded sounds heard in the tunnel.

Exclusively at The Underbelly Show, the unreleased We Own the Night: The Art of The Underbelly Project book, will be available as a limited edition collectors boxed set before the public release in February. This boxed set will include a hard cover book along with 9 unreleased photos packaged in a hand crafted oak box engraved with the names of each artist that contributed to the project. Before the general viewing there will also be a book signing featuring many of the aforementioned artists.

The gallery will be located at 2200 Collins Avenue, South Beach in Miami, FL.

The Underbelly Project

In 2009 PAC and Workhorse started a project in an abandoned subway station in New York City. Over the course of a year and a half they invited over 100 contemporary artists to leave their creative mark inside the station. Working illegally, the project worked towards documenting a cross section of contemporary art, free of the commercial restrictions of the traditional gallery environment. Once the project had come to and end, the entrance was sealed trapping the art inside and creating an ephemeral time capsule. The project received praise internationally, including a front-page article from The New York Times.

THE UNDERBELLY PROJECT