friday wisdom.

herakut finishes their mural in rochester.

so, the weeklong adventure has come to an end. today our family went over to check out herakut's finished product, and it was just as stunning as expected. it didn't hurt that it was gorgeous fall day. full of sun and a not-so-biting wind.

the finished mural.

hand detail.

head detail.

a powerful statement. more powerful in context of the whole storybook.

he just wants to touch the paint everywhere.

so amazed by the feet.

honored to have this signature in our city.

herakut in rochester, day 4.

it looks like thursday will be their last day on this piece, and their last in rochester. unfortunately, the second mural has been cancelled due to how long this one has taken. but this is in a more widely-travelled location, so i guess its the better spot to have one.

little man and a big foot. amazing!

end of day 4.

day 4 detail.

being his observant self.

herakut in rochester, day 3.

how lucky that he has gotten to watch this all happen before his eyes.

face, pre-eye rendering.

had a great conversation with akut. josh was so excited.

herakut in rochester, day 2.

today was the first full day of herakut's mural painting in rochester. josh and i went down to watch them in action. it was very interesting and so inspiring. hera and akut were in separate cherry pickers and had free range of motion all over the face of the building, and they operated the machinery (which josh loved just as much as the paintings) like they were extensions of themselves. its hard to describe until you see them in motion... but watching hera with her long-stemmed paint roller applying washes of paint and akut doing highly detailed spray painting on such a large scale, from about 20 feet from the wall was really great... and in typical rochester style, only about 5 people were there at any given time.

check out some pics from our visit - more to come tomorrow.

josh sizing up the mural from afar

hera brushing on the expressive base coat 

akut working on the hand detail

2 dudes enjoying art and heavy machinery

progress as of 5pm

herakut "the giant storybook project" comes to rochester!

herakut is one of my favorite contemporary artists. well, its actually two artists: hera is a classically trained painter, and akut is self-taught. together they create some of the most intriguing and compelling mural/'street' art in the world. i stumbled upon them back in 2009 in juxtapoz magazine and immediately went online to find out more.

i first posted about them that day, after finding some great youtube videos. i admired the style in which they worked - the imagery, the materials, the spaces they used and HOW they used them. i missed painting and working in collaboration with my mentor, bill stephens, and this just made me love herakut even more (incidently, you can see bill's and my doodles here, although they are far less interesting and compelling than the work of hera and akut).

they have put out a few books that are worth checking out. i have 'after the laughter' and its a wild ride through their installation and mural work... layed out like a scrapbook or artists' sketchbook.

anyway, the point of this whole post is that herakut has a new project that they are working on with jim carrey (yes, that jim carrey) called "the giant storybook project". they are travelling all over the world painting large scale murals that will be used to create a children's book. the idea is fantastic and so creative, and the work thus far is just what you would expect from these artists.

the best part of this project is that its coming to ROCHESTER! im not sure exactly how we swung this one, but in my mind its a pretty big 'get'. we are the 5th stop, following lexington (kentucky - 2 murals), eresing (outside of munich, germany), montreal, and toronto. (you can click on the city name to see a photo gallery of each mural).

the murals in rochester will be painted at 208 andrews street (between clinton and st. paul), and 480 west main street (just west of 490). the second piece will be a smaller scale and started once the first is completed.

and on top of all of this, hera and akut will be giving an artist talk at RIT on wednesday from 6-8. more details here.

you should stop by and check out their work - they encourage kids and pets. i'll be bringing josh and hopefully some of my students.

check out the video and pictures to see what the whole project is all about. or find our more on the project's facebook page.


Herakut from Bullhorn on Vimeo.

lexington 1 - the beginning

lexington 1 - finished product

lexington 1 - elementary class visit

lexington 2 - finished product

lexington 2 - in progress detail

eresing (st. ottilien archabbey) - finished product

montreal

montreal - detail

toronto - finished product

rochester - getting started!

AP art friday afternoon.

a room full of wonderful working artists. 

love this room, love this crew.

(click to zoom)

friday wisdom.

artist(s) of the week :: the gryllus

the gryllus an artist duo, similar to (in idea, not in style) herakut. it represents the collaborative paintings of cara thayer and louie van patten. this duo pushes the envelope with dynamic, in-your-face close up composition of faces and other body parts. they are interested in exploring surface and expression - bringing the viewer right into contact with the subject.
also, check out the direct application of paint (also known as a la prima), full of marks and strokes.
you can find out more info on their blog or at bluecanvas.

5 records you may want to check out.

its official. its no longer summer. new seasons call for new music populating the speakers. are you looking for something fresh and new to break the monotony of all that taylor swift, one direction, and maroon 5 clogging up the air waves? heres a few of my recent favorites that you may want to give a listen to...

1. mumford and sons "babel"
this album just screams october to me. it takes the traditional americana-style instrumentation and song structure to new heights - recalling the grandeur of U2 and coldplay. its definitely the most powerful banjo-starring album you will have heard in a long time (or ever). special props go out to the 'deluxe edition', featuring a cover of simon & garfunkel's fantastic "the boxer", along with the album closer that somehow didnt make the album, "where are you now".

standout tracks (beside those two) are "i will wait", "holland road", and "ghosts that we knew".

2. john mayer "born and raised"
if you know any of mayer's previous music, this album wont come as too much of a surprise. luckily though, he kicks back a bit here, bringing out some of that california/country feel that just sets a great vibe throughout. its a solid listen from front to back... a true album in the age of $.99 single song downloads.

but... if you have to pick just a few, i'd suggest "queen of california", "walt grace's submarine test, january 1967", and "love is a verb".

3. the black keys "el camino"
hey - i like the black keys! i bet you didn't know that. as a matter of fact, im wearing a black keys shirt as i type this. this album has been out all year, and many people have come to know and love the keys from the album's standout singles "lonely boy" (have you seen that video!?!) and "gold on the ceiling". this album will rock your face off. it, along with their previous album "brothers" are perennial favorites in the stahl house (as well as my art room). if you haven't heard them yet, do yourself a favor and head over to itunes right about... now.

4. the avett brothers "the carpenter"
these guys played with bob dylan at the grammys (along with the aforementioned mumford and sons) a few years back. it garnered them a lot of much-deserved attention. their new record is another modern take on traditional american song writing and instrumentation. a variety of stringed instruments (including banjo, mandolin and acoustic guitar) take center stage, along with piano and the interweaving harmonies of the brothers scott and seth. its great crunchy fall music to go with your pumpkin spice latte (and yeah, starbucks probably sells it at their register)... and somehow it manages to rock pretty hard.

standout tracks are "february seven", "the once and future carpenter", and "live and die".

5. sea wolf "old world romance"

sea wolf finds itself in a realm somewhere between the cure and matt pond pa (if you've never heard those bands... what are you waiting for?!?)... or for a more recently comparison, they sound like the shins more mellow cousins. its the perfect music for a grey rainy day. good music to get lost in and make some art to.

top 3 tracks are "old friend", "priscilla", and "changing seasons".