Top 10 Street Art and Graffiti Stories of 2011

By Shelley Leopold Thu., Dec. 22 2011 at 7:00 AM

Shannon Cottrell

JR in L.A.

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. Please add your own in the comments below.

10. Shepard Fairey assaulted in Copenhagen

Ok, so we didn't promise all the things on the list would be uplifting. Shepard was visiting Denmark on behalf of V1, a notable local Copenhagen gallery that perhaps didn't do their homework in clearing an already controversial place for him to paint. Or maybe they didn't care -- it would get media attention. Particularly disturbing was that a few European "anarchists" though it would be fair to beat up and injure an artist to make their point. Love Fairey or hate him, it's never okay to kick the shit out of an artist because of his work. Know history.

Shannon Cottrell

9. Risk and Retna paint a house for Heal the bay
Wow. Property Owner and Graf Artist team up to create the piece of the year. An entire house in Santa Monica painted mostly in secret by Risk and Retna in honor of Heal the Bay's coastal cleanup day. Three months of preparation includes a team of contractors, landscapers, most of the neighborhood and even some cops who chipped in for an astounding reveal that lasted a little more than a week. But, of course, not without hassle. Developer/art fan Adam Corlin puts his money (and his house) where his mouth is to benefit his favorite charity. More please. (See number 3)

Gregory Bojorquez, courtesy of MOCA

8. Brooklyn Museum cancels second leg of "Art in the Streets"
It was a sad day for art fans in New York and the Brooklyn Museum. In an email sent to participating artists from the museum's director, Arnold Lehman, the East Coast was officially denied the best-attended exhibit in MOCA's history. Not to mention the fact that it featured a heavy contingent of Big Apple talent like Futura, Lee, Basquiat and Ramellzee, known for inventing a generation of the very art movement it celebrated. Do we think the usually risk-taking Brooklyn Museum was bullied out of doing this show? Sure. Does the economy suck for museums dependent on donations and public funds? Yes. Despite some trumped up tagging in the Little Tokyo neighborhood, L.A.'s world didn't end. Expect New York to host an amazing version of the show in the near future. There is money to be made.

Shannon Cottrell

7. JR wins the TED prize, brings "Wrinkles" project to L.A.
Activist/Artist/Frenchman/Photograffuer, JR brings "Wrinkles of the City," a series of his latest, office park-sized photographs to L.A. On the heels of his unprecedented $100,000 TED prize nomination, Los Angeles became the first U.S. city to host one of the street artist's full-scale projects. Perhaps his other location choices have been more poignant (the favelas of Brazil or the war torn villages of Somalia) but wheat pasting sky high elderly faces with furrowed brows as deep as the L.A. river might start a conversation in this mecca of plastic surgery. Most of the photos are still intact, so check out our exclusive Google map to view. You can still get involved in his TED sanctioned concept: insideoutproject.net. Do it yourself!

Tags:

art in the streets, banksy, graffiti, moca, revok, saber, shepard fairey, street art

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Dig it

Hell yeah! The best top 10 list I've seen in a while. The Retna house piece, so rad! Keep it up artists.

anon

You forgot to include the apple grenades Free Humanity put up in a tree downtown that shut down the Metro Gold Line and shut streets down in DTLA. It was on the news but not on this list? SHAME

Kennethduanesmith

Its good street artist what they deserve I myself paint streetart graffiti art but haven't got the attention that Aero presure or iteration have gotten when know I'm just as good but good for them if they can support there families and make a living I'm proud of them and from San Diego where art is terrible.!!!!!

Fuckdigselv

Shepard deserves to die for his crimes

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Hieronymus Thatsme

Put aside the monetary capitalist "value" end of art, along with the politics, and suddenly it comes down to one thing, the work. And as the appropriate saying goes, "opinions are like assholes". The context of graffiti art will only have one place and that place can never be sold. New Year New Walls.

VongMee

Wow, that dude is like totally rocking, why didnt I think of that? Seriously.www.Total-Privacy dot US

Sam Carlton

"Love Fairey or hate him, it's never okay to kick the shit out of an artist because of his work. Know history." Actually, Shepard's work is often stolen and/or samples work by other artists. In the world of graffiti, things have lost a lot of heart. Used to be, if someone wrecked your piece or copied your style, there would be much explaining, and usually a fight would ensue because of said disrespectful acts. It's a rule NOT to let that kind of stuff fly, and just because you are a celebrity, DOES NOT protect you from the laws of the lifestyle. Shepard is a sell out, and I can say this for sure, because I'm wearing an Obey shirt that does not feature any of his actual artwork. He doesn't do any more work in the streets, and when you stop putting in work like that, you lose the right to act like you are are hot shit. You let your ego get in the way of your art, and your art starts to suck, and you get lazy. Also, he is a street artist, and as a general truth, they DO tend to think WAY TOO MUCH of themselves. Some do it right, but Shep has most definitely fallen off...

karate

I'm not defending, apologizing or championing Shepard but where do you get your facts? Shepard is CONSTANTLY out in the streets to this day. I have personally seen him several times in the past year putting up work in NYC, Miami, etc. Does he work alone? No, he has a crew that works with him but he is always on scene and conceptualizes and produces the works, in addition to putting up work himself.

I find it fascinating how many street artists/graff artists shit-talk this dude and every time I ask them the same thing: Have you've met him? What did you talk about? What did you think of him in person? Not once has anyone I've asked that of actually met him and spoken with him... not once. I have met him and I've found him to be down to earth, humble and full of political piss & vinegar and strong convictions. He uses his soapbox for social change and activist conversation which is pretty honorable.

I used to talk smack about plenty of people until someone stopped me with "have met/spoken with" question... I realized that often we form our opinions based on second hand conversations and conjecture.

All I'm saying is try to be open-minded and judge people based on your actual interactions with them. You might be surprise, or you may confirm everything you thought.

gemzer ctc

I've known Shepard since I was 14. He gets so much undeserved shit. I've been out bombing with him. He's a maniac on the streets and one of the nicest and most intelligent people you'll ever meet. I agree with you- until you meet someone and know the real deal, wait to form your opinion. I've been a graff writer for over 15 years. Everyone I had beef with I have ended up being friends with. Once you meet face to face it either gets settled or you fight and end up drinking a beer together later that night. Where does it usually start? Other people talking shit that gets everything blown up.So here it is... "Shepard doesn't put in work anymore.. Shepard doesn't put up his own stuff...I hate Shepard" Then the guy next to him says "Yeah, me too!" And here we are.

Sam Carlton

Met Frank at Art Basel in Miami in '08. He was a great guy. Loved him, and his wife was really cool too. When I say 'work in the streets', what I mean is, He doesn't do alot of 'ILLEGAL ARTISTIC VANDALISM in the streets'. Wonderful guy, great at making sociopolitical artwork. But at the same time, he's been getting quite a bit of his ups legally since '07. I like most of his work, and I like the points that he makes with it. But having your crew help you with your piece defeats the purpose of pushing a singular name if you are going to HIRE A TEAM OF PEOPLE to help you put your name out. I have met a few street-artists from all over, and the main consensus is that he's a cool guy, but he's just not doing it right. He's saying the right things, and doing MARVELOUS murals. But what he's not doing, is going out in the middle of the night, and pasting the Giant's face on the freeways and rooftops and random, middle of nowhere, kind of spots. He hits mostly legal spots with high foot traffic, which is nice, but that's not how you are supposed to do street art or graffiti. It is an ILLEGAL ART FORM. If Frank wants to get the kind of notoriety that he used to have back when he was KILLING all of the other sociopolitical artists in the early 2000's, all he would have to do is start getting up again. Illegally.

Estra213

I am agree with you guys completly... I personally have not met the guy but I am sure he is great. He would probably get more respect by doing illegal stuff again but since he is part of a set of people who can no longer make art illegally because of his status. People know who he is and if he starts bombing illegal again it would cause more trouble for him. He is older now as well and at some point you have to stop.

Weather it maybe illegal or legal he continues to still make art the way he wants. And you have to respect the guy for his roots in the street art scene and for his new artistic message.