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Las Vegas Arts District, Photo Tour
A visual guide to Las Vegas’s street art district, as photographed by Alexandria Deters.
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Curatorial Statement: NEON GOTHIC
For anyone who couldn’t make it to the opening, the curatorial statement from UP managing editor Emma Riva’s 2/4 show NEON GOTHIC.
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Ruttkowski;68 Arrives in New York City
How many legendary graffiti spots can you name? Some are a matter of taste, but others are undisputed—Basquiat’s one-time studio until recently, for instance, Freeman’s Alley in the LES hopefully forever, but also Cortland Alley in TriBeCa, one of the fine art world’s latest hotspots. Ruttkowski;68, a German gallery with graffiti roots and eyes beyond art history’s canon, marks TriBeCa’s latest addition—in Cortland Alley too, that illegal art destination dating back to 1817.
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How Wartime Price Gouging Nearly Destroyed My DIY Book Launch
Dan Efram tells the story of producing the very first artbook of world-renowned painter Steve Keene–a story full of ups and downs that ultimately ends with a book Rolling Stone called “a massively dazzling celebration of fandom as an art form–playful, affectionate, slightly unhinged.”
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Venazir Martinez, Baguio City’s “Anthropreneur”
Meet Venazir Martinez, a street artist creating beauty, depth, and advocacy on the walls of Baguio City in the Cordillera region of the Philippines. Martinez’s mission is to highlight indigenous communities in the Philippines and make viewers ask: What does it mean to be Filipino?
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January 2023 Submissions Contest – Fresh Vibes
The selected pieces from January 2023’s ‘Fresh Vibes’ Submissions Contest.
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UP5 Preview – Saturday Morning Breakfast Murals – Cartoon Icons
A Collection of Murals & Street Art Inspired by Cartoons & Classic Characters.
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UP5 Preview – Icons of Havana: Art of a Revolutionary Generation
One cannot simply become an icon. To become iconic, images must be a reflection of accomplishments in a specific field at a specific time, visual representing something greater than the actual subject itself. Jimi Hendrix is an iconic representation of the 1960’s music scene; Michael Jordan’s is icon of basketball – in 1996 a global poll found Jordan’s face was as recognizable as figures like Chairman Mao, Bill Clinton, John Lennon, or even Jesus Christ. The Coca-Cola logo is an iconic representation of American capitalism and certainly, if T-shirts are a barometer, Ché Guevara’s face, beret and flowing hair are THE icon for revolution and political change.
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UP5 – The Shape of Beauty: Tony Sjöman and the Rise of Rubin415
Tony Sjöman, has adopted many names, but most will recognize him as Rubin415, the artist who brings a poetic beauty to abstract murals. From the prime age of nine, he has felt the inescapable urge to markup walls and add some color, the natural inclination of a boy who grew up around the cold concrete projects of Gothenburg.
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UP5 Preview – Inside the Mind of Ian Cinco
At first glance you might look at one of Ian Cinco’s wacky & surreal drawings and think to yourself, ‘this is incredible! What the heck is this guy smoking?’ For me, it brought to mind the famous quote from Oscar Levant; “There is a fine line between genius and insanity.” Cinco’s creative talents stretch far beyond his eccentric, funny and detailed sketches, as the artist has proven himself versatile in a variety of mediums.
