Since 2002 (updated often), your old-school website for all things stencils. Photo, video, links, and exhibit info submissions always welcome. Enjoy and stay curious.
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My practice deals with paradox and its reconciliation through a transcending act or form. Focusing on the contradictions of the human spirit and the society we have built, I work with the conflict between desire and fulfillment, vulnerability and courage, futility and possibility.
Anti-Surveillance Camouflage for Your Face
In a world of increasingly sophisticated facial-recognition technology, a drastic technique can throw the machines off your trail.
Robinson Meyer
Original Link (with great photos)
JULY 24, 2014
The NSA made me slather my face in make-up.
Or, it didn’t make me, exactly. But last spring, I found myself wandering around D.C., wearing dazzle camouflage for the first time. It was a sunny Saturday, the capital swamp neither frigid nor muggy-oppressive—perfect for walking. It took me 45 minutes to get all the makeup on, to get the pencil right and the hair dangled just so.
I spent the day hanging out with some friends around Adams Morgan, a neighborhood seemingly developed by former hippies who had gone into non-profit C-suites or opened boutique restaurant-bars. I told my friends why my face had splotches of dark makeup on it but didn’t say much to anyone else, and that’s when the looks began.
Peter Kuper is a long-time stencil artist, co-founder of World War 3 Illustrated (with long-time stenciler Seth Tobocman), and current creator for Mad Magazine's Spy vs. Spy. When I was compiling my Oaxaca section for Stencil Nation, Peter was kind enough to take a few minutes from his insane schedule and send me some photos. One photo of a rice stencil ended up in the book. Glad to finally get an interview with him posted on this site (thanks to Boing Boing and RiYL, and Brian Heater).
Interview audio here.
Every time I speak to Peter Kuper, the conversation invariably turns to New York — or, as is often the case, begins there. It’s my own fault. I’ve got this insatiable need to ask fellow residents, artists in particular, what keeps them in the city’s orbit. Kuper is a particularly interesting case study, having left the city — and country — in 2006, for a life in Mexico.
Mysteries of medieval graffiti in England's churches
By Neil Heath
BBC News (See all the photos here: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-28035013)
A head of a man was found etched into a wall of a church in Gonerby, Lincolnshire - but what does it mean?
Medieval graffiti of straw kings, pentagrams, crosses, ships and "demon traps" have been offering a tantalising glimpse into England's past. What do the pictures reveal about life in the Middle Ages?
A project to record the graffiti, which began in Norfolk, has now been rolled out to other areas and is gradually spreading across England.
Select Urban Soule artwork has been picked up by CB2 (Crate & Barrel), Target and Hobby Lobby!
Be sure to check stores Spring of 2015 to see what's been chosen!
Meanwhile, check out Urban Soule's work locally, up in the Seattle area:
Bellevue Festival of the Arts
July 25th-27th 10am-8pm
Booth number #143 facing 8th street
Anacortes Arts Festival
August 1st-3rd - 10am 6pm
Booth number #605E
Located in Anacortes,WA
Stencils Against Fracking is a distributed public art project to raise awareness of the dangers of fracking in California. This creative tactic is designed for anti-frackig activists and groups to further their own fight against fracking and other extreme energy techniques.
'Prehistoric Sistine Chapel' gets world heritage status
http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-27978440
A cave in southern France dubbed the "prehistoric Sistine Chapel" has been added to Unesco's World Heritage list.
The 1,000 drawings carved in the walls of the Decorated Cave of Pont d'Arc, or Grotte Chauvet, are 36,000 years old and include mammoths and hand prints.
Big Brother? Chicago to measure pedestrians' movements
by Jolie Lee
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/06/24/chicago-big-da…
By year's end, Chicago could have as many as 50 sensors attached to downtown light poles collecting data on everything from the humidity to air quality to the noise level.
The project, called "Array of Things," has the potential for far-reaching applications. For example, air quality data could help you navigate a route through the city that avoids pollution and allergens. Or traffic data could inform the city where best to install bike lines.
