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Graffiti

Blog Featured (Soledad)Films GRAFSTRACT Sound and Vision

GRAFSTRACT: The Bronx Street Art Renaissance | A Short Documentary Film

by Dan Perez August 7, 2017

Filmed in the Bronx back in the summer of 2014, my short documentary film “GRAFSTRACT: The Bronx Street Art Renaissance” has just completed a rather surprising three year film festival run that included screenings in 13 different countries as well as Los Angeles (where it won the “Best Street Art Film” award at the 2015 New Urbanism Film Festival), New York City (2016 Bronx International Film Festival) and several states in between.

The film is now available for public viewing (scroll down to watch the film subtitled in Spanish or Italian) and you can read up on on all the who, what, when, where and why on the film’s official page. So enjoy the film and feel free to let us know what you thought of it in the comments section below (and feel free to share!). Thanks, in advance!

Here’s the film:

GRAFSTRACT: The Bronx Street Art Renaissance from DanPerezFilms on Vimeo.

La película subtitulada en español:

GRAFSTRACT: The Bronx Street Art Renaissance [SPANISH SUBTITLES] from DanPerezFilms on Vimeo.

Il film sottotitolato in italiano:

GRAFSTRACT: The Bronx Street Art Renaissance [Italian Subtitles] from DanPerezFilms on Vimeo.

From Left: James ‘Sexer’ Rodriguez, myself, SinXero, and John ‘Crash’ Matos [Day 1]

From Left: Chris Stain, Billy Mode, James ‘Sexer’ Rodriguez and SinXero [Day 2]

From Left: Luis ‘Zimad’ Lamboy, James ‘Sexer’ Rodriguez, SinXero, and John ‘Crash’ Matos [Day 3]

Me and my “Production Assistant”, my daughter Miranda. That’s a wrap!

August 7, 2017

Blog Photography Places & Spaces

The Inaugural Urban Art Fair in New York City (In Pictures)

by Dan Perez July 5, 2017

written by Dan Perez

So, this past weekend, I took the family to New York to celebrate my wife’s 50th birthday (er, I mean, 35th birthday!) with family and friends (we live in South Florida, you see, but grew up in New York). We had a lovely dinner party on Saturday night but I hadn’t really made any plans for the following day. Fortunately, my street art loving little brother suggested we check out the first edition of the Urban Art Fair at Spring Studios in New York.

The fair, which kicked off on June 29 and ran through July 3, had its first and second editions in Paris in 2016 and April 2017 and is dedicated entirely to celebrating urban art and graffiti. With more than 20 international galleries hailing from Paris, Berlin, Hong Kong, Miami, and my old stomping grounds of the Bronx, I figured this was an ideal way to spend a free weekend afternoon in NYC.

So we headed downtown to Spring Studios in the heart of Tribeca with Mrs. Perez, my teenage daughter, but without my Lumix GH4 and my usual assortment of lenses. I wanted to travel light so I trusted the camera on my HTC 10 to get the job done (did you know it can shoot in RAW?). It did.

Here are a few images from the first edition of the Urban Art Fair in New York City – enjoy…

“Preservons La Creation” by French artist Sebastien “Mr. D” Boileau. Made of upcycled spraycans, the image of the white-bearded man only shows up when you photograph it with a cellphone camera. The painting will set you back a cool $120k…

NYC street artist DAIN

“Merde in USA” by French artist Sebastien “Mr. D” Boileau

Italian artist Tomaso Albertini uses angular segments of cardboard to create his work…

Mauritian (an Indian Ocean island nation) artist Gael Froget

“Tomato Soup” by French street artist Pimax

Me and the family admiring the work of the Bronx’s own John “Crash” Matos

Series of photographs by Henry Chalfant, an American photographer most notable for his work on graffiti and hip hop culture…

Urban art lovers enjoying the collection of art and photography…

“Lost Values” by Los Angeles based artist Kaï Aspire

No urban art fair would be complete without the work of England-based artist Banksy

“Moving Forward” by NYC based artist Logan Hicks

Mrs. Perez admiring the work of French-born, Los Angeles-based street artist Thierry Guetta, aka Mr. Brainwash

British artist Prefab77

“Head-in-the-wall (child)” by American artist Mark Jenkins

“Freedom” by Romano of the French street art collective Le Mouvement

Mural by Paris-based street artist Hopare

Assorted works by iconic American artist and social activist Keith Haring {RIP}

“Sobre la resistencia” by Spanish artist Mesa

French artist Nowart

Alicia Keys by French street artist Noé Two

Irish artist Fin DAC

John Lennon by French artist French artist Nowart

A pair of paintings by French street artist Seaty

Urban fashion also on display…

View from above…

Live painting by French street artist Noé Two on the roof of Spring Studios

Views from the rooftop…

For an art lover like myself (and my family), the Urban Art Fair in New York was a lovely way to spend a few hours on what was a lovely summer day and an overall lovely weekend. Watch for it next year…

Love street art as much as I do? Check out my NYC street art documentary films “The Candle” (the inspirational story of how NYC street artist Marthalicia Matarrita and her brothers overcame poverty and harsh living conditions through their passion for art) and “GRAFSTRACT: The Bronx Street Art Renaissance” featuring urban artists SinXero, James “Sexer” Rodriguez and legendary Bronx graffiti artist john “Crash” Matos.

July 5, 2017

Blog Films GRAFSTRACT Sound and Vision

Official Selection: Festival Internazionale del Cinema Documentario | Taranto, Italy

by Dan Perez April 26, 2017

written by Dan Perez

Very happy to announce that my award-winning short documentary film GRAFSTRACT: The Bronx Street Art Renaissance has been named an official selection and finalist of the 3rd edition of the Festival Internazionale del Cinema Documentario – Premio Marcellino de Baggis in Taranto, Italy. The selection will mark the third screening of the film in Italy (grazie!).

The festival, which is named after award-winning Italian cinematographer and director Marcellino de Baggis (who passed away in 2011), aims to create awareness for the documentary film culture as well as promote the history and beauty of Taranto, a coastal city in Southern Italy. Our film will screen on May 4th, full schedule HERE.

The film won the Best Street Art Film award at the 2015 New Urbanism Film Festival in Los Angeles. The film made its NYC premiere at the 2016 Bronx International Film Festival and has also screened at film festivals in Spain, Sweden, Albania, Turkey, Mexico, Chile, Scotland, Romania, Colombia, India, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary and Italy. Very excited that the film is continuing to reach new international audiences.

[vimeo]https://vimeo.com/116378964[/vimeo]

April 26, 2017

Blog Photography Sound and Vision

The Amazing Street Art of the Wynwood Art District, Miami (In Pictures)

by Dan Perez March 23, 2017

written by Dan Perez

Just as the seasons change (or not really down here in South Florida), there’s one thing you can bank on in Miami – there’s gonna be new murals every few months in the popular Wynwood Art District. I took the family down on two different occasions and spent several hours in this wonderful section of South Florida. Oh, and as I always do, I brought my Lumix GH4 with me (you can check out my first set of photographs from 2013 HERE and my set from 2014 HERE). Enjoy the photographs (and yes, we ate at Joeys Italian Cafe yet again).

This stunning mural by Miami-based Dominican artist Ruben Ubiera requires a closer look to appreciate the little details…

Miami-based artist Jose Mertz

Mexican street artist Paola Delfin

Brazilian street artist Sipros

Striking a pose with my daughter in front of this collaborative piece by Canadian street artist Kevin Ledo and Irish street artist Fin DAC

Ecuadorian artist Apitatán

My daughter appreciating the work of Miami-based artist DELVS

Argentinian artist Franco Fasoli aka Jaz

Me and Mrs. Perez trying to strike a pose in front of a large mural by British artist D*Face

Greek street artist INO

Chilean street artist duo of Sammy Espinoza (Jekse) and Cynthia Aguilera (Cines) aka UnKolorDistinto

Miami’s own Golden

Italian street artist ZED1

British street artist and animal activist Louis Masai who urges us “The biggest threat to manatee are speedboats…slow down!”

Collaboration piece between Miami based street artists Michael Vasquez and Jose Felix Perez

Chilean, NYC-based street artist Dasic Fernández at Wynwood Walls

Mrs. Perez enjoying the work of Miami’s own Tatiana Suarez

Korean street artist David Choe

For a cool $100K, you can own this custom motorcycle designed by legendary Bronx graffiti artist John ‘Crash’ Matos

John ‘Crash’ Matos at Wynwood Walls

The “golden hour” for photographers as the sun sets in Miami. Behind them, a collaborative piece between Andrew Antonaccio (Puerto Rico) and Filio Galvez (Cuba) aka 2Alas and Argentinian-Spanish artist Felipe Pantone

March 23, 2017

Blog Films GRAFSTRACT Sound and Vision

Official Selection: International Film Festival of Fine Arts | Szolnok, Hungary

by Dan Perez October 11, 2016

written by Dan Perez

After closing out the Festival Internazionale del Cinema d’Arte in Milan, Italy this past weekend, I am now very happy to announce that my short documentary film GRAFSTRACT: The Bronx Street Art Renaissance has now been named an official selection of the 9th edition of the International Film Festival of Fine Arts in Hungary. The festival kicks off this week on the 12th and runs through Sunday the 16th. My film will screen on Saturday, October 15th at 3:30pm [full schedule of s HERE].

The International Film Festival of Fine Arts takes place in Szolnok, a city in central Hungary about 60 miles from Budapest. Its location on the banks of the Tisza river, at the heart of the Great Hungarian Plain, has made it an important cultural and economic crossroads for centuries (its earliest recorded history dates back to 1075!). The festival selects films that present or reinterpret pieces of art by means of cinematic methods or deal with the life or certain stages of one or more artists or art groups. They welcome works that discover certain tendencies or periods of fine arts or their social context.

The festival attracts film and art scholars as well as enthusiasts, renowned artists, journalists and musicians, and features numerous panel discussions and art exhibits. So, if you happen to find yourself in or around the historic city of Szolnok this week, stop by and check out the fine films as well as the fine art.

[vimeo]https://vimeo.com/116378964[/vimeo]

October 11, 2016

Blog Films GRAFSTRACT Sound and Vision

Official Selection: Festival Internazionale del Cinema d’Arte | Milan, Italy

by Dan Perez October 4, 2016

written by Dan Perez

Very happy to announce that my award-winning short documentary film GRAFSTRACT: The Bronx Street Art Renaissance has been named an official selection (and will make it’s Italian premiere) of the Festival Internazionale del Cinema d’Arte in Milan, Italy. The festival, now in its 15th year, opens this week in Milan, Italy and runs from this Wednesday the 5th until the 8th. Our film will close out the festival on the evening of October 8th.

The Festival collects movies that celebrate the universal language of cinema and art; the different expressions of art that describe a period, interpret an artist’s world, or draw an artistic-aesthetic portrait. Art and cinema as social occasions for growth, evasion, historical and sociological study. The festival features four days of screenings, special events, and meetings with guests from the entertainment world and culture.

It’s a shame I wasn’t able to attend the festival personally but I am extremely honored to have my film screened at such a prestigious festival such as this one. If you happen to find yourself in Milan, stop by and check out the great films. Here’s the trailer for the festival…

GRAFSTRACT: The Bronx Street Art Renaissance, a film I directed, shot and edited, was filmed in the Bronx, New York City, back in the summer of 2014 and tells the story of J. “SinXero” Beltran, Founder & Creative Director of TAG Public Arts Project. With the help of some of the world’s top street artists, SinXero’s mission of “Enhancing The Visual Landscape of Urban Communities with Art” is becoming a reality in the birthplace of graffiti, The Bronx. The film won the Best Street Art Film award at the 2015 New Urbanism Film Festival in Los Angeles. The film made its NYC premiere at the 2016 Bronx International Film Festival and has also screened at film festivals in Spain, Sweden, Albania, Turkey, Mexico, Chile, Scotland, Romania, Colombia, India, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and now Italy.

[vimeo]https://vimeo.com/116378964[/vimeo]

October 4, 2016

Blog Featured Films GRAFSTRACT

Colombian Urban Art Film Festival in Bogotá THIS WEEKEND!

by Dan Perez August 31, 2016

written by Dan Perez

Happy to announce that my award-winning short documentary film GRAFSTRACT: The Bronx Street Art Renaissance will screen THIS FRIDAY, September 2nd at the first edition of the Colombian Urban Art Film Festival in Bogotá. The film will screen in the 5pm-7pm block of films on Friday at the famed Cinemateca Distrital, one of Bogotá’s oldest independent film theaters.

The Colombian Urban Arts Film Festival will focus on screening audiovisual works that focus on urban art and artists from national and international filmmakers through various exhibitions throughout the city. A city with a rich (and infamous) history of graffiti and politically-charged street art.

Bogotá already had a thriving graffiti scene when in 2011, Diego Felipe Becerra, a 16-year-old street artist who called himself Tripido, was shot dead by police while painting pictures of Felix the Cat on the walls of an underpass. The police invented a story that the boy had robbed a bus and when this was proven untrue, the city came out in protest.

With all the negative media coverage, Gustavo Petro, then mayor of Bogotá, issued a decree to decriminalize graffiti and street art painting to help promote what was seen as a new form of artistic and cultural expression, but with the agreement that public buildings and monuments should remain free from graffiti.

Bogotá’s liberal attitudes have attracted some of the world’s top street artists but street art being what it is (Rules? Seriously?), it is still an uneasy peace that exists between graffiti/street artists and the authorities. Bogotá, however, remains one of the best places in the Americas for street art. So if you happen to love street art and find yourself in Bogotá this weekend, stop by and check out the films…

GRAFSTRACT: The Bronx Street Art Renaissance [SPANISH TRAILER] from DanPerezFilms on Vimeo.

August 31, 2016

Blog Films GRAFSTRACT Sound and Vision

Official Selection: Middle Coast Film Festival | Bloomington, July 28-30

by Dan Perez July 19, 2016

written by Dan Perez

Very happy to announce that my award-winning short documentary film GRAFSTRACT: The Bronx Street Art Renaissance has been named an official selection of the Middle Coast Film Festival in Bloomington, Indiana. The film will screen on Friday, July 29th in the 11:30am-12:30pm block of films at the Ivy Tech John Waldron Arts Center.

Middle Coast Film Festival is Bloomington’s first interactive film festival, bringing the best international and national short and feature films, web series episodes, and music videos at four separate venues in Bloomington, Indiana. Their mission is to not only provide their audience in Indiana with some of the best films out there, but to showcase the vibrant arts community in the Midwest. Over the course of the weekend festival goers will enjoy panel discussions, Q&A sessions, and multiple networking events at local studios, restaurants, and bars with filmmakers from all over the world.

Very excited at the opportunity of having my film screened at a fast-growing festival that truly focuses on indie filmmakers and the arts. If you happen to find yourself in or around Bloomington, stop by and check out some of the great films being shown. You can find information on all film HERE.

[vimeo]https://vimeo.com/116378964[/vimeo]

July 19, 2016

Blog Photography Places & Spaces

The Bushwick Collective, Brooklyn (In Pictures) Part Deux

by Dan Perez July 6, 2016

written by Dan Perez

Two years ago, I paid my first visit to Brooklyn’s fast-growing Bushwick Collective outdoor street gallery. The brainchild of Joseph Ficalora, who’s father was knifed and killed for his wallet on these very streets back in 1991, The Bushwick Collective invites artists from all over the world to paint murals and transform aging tagged-up buildings into works of art.

Joseph Ficalora, who runs the family business, GCM Steel, started contacting street artists after his mother passed of a brain tumor in 2011. Ficalora, in a 2013 New York Times article: “You come down this block, you see graffiti on the walls, you remember all bad memories. I turn another corner, I see where my dad was murdered. I turn another corner, I have memories of my mom. There was nothing left for me to want.”

As Ficalora began contacting street artists and offering them walls, the artists began coming; and from all over the world. Ficalora, who has no background in art, secures the wall space and the permits – the artists, who are not paid and have to provide their own supplies, do the rest. And the gentrification of the area has begun as new bars and cafes begin opening in this new outdoor art gallery that once was one of the city’s most crime-ridden neighborhoods (it still isn’t the safest but it’s come a loooong way!).

I spent a few hours walking the area (with my Lumix GH4 in hand) on a recent trip to NYC last week and snapped a few photographs – enjoy…

Puerto Rican artist Don Rimx

My daughter appreciating the work of NYC street artist KLOPS

“Humpty Trumpty” by American “POPaganda” artist Ron English

“The Radiant Madonna” by New Zealand street artist Owen Dippie

Brazilian street artist Sipros

It ain’t all eye-candy around the streets of Bushwick but that’s quickly changing…

Toronto born and based artist Li-Hill

Came across this rather colorful means of transportation while walking the neighborhood…

Chilean, NYC-based street artist Dasic Fernandez

Philadelphia-based street artist NDA

Puerto Rican street artist Nepo

Collaborative piece by New Jersey based street artist Joe Iurato and NYC-based stencil artist Logan Hicks

English multimedia street artist D*Face

My daughter striking a pose in front of a collaboration piece by Miami’s own Aquarela Sabol and NYC based artist Claudia La Bianca (on the far right is atribute to The Notorious B.I.G. by Brooklyn artist Danielle Mastrion)

Another piece by a Miami-based artist, this one by Atomik

Impressive mixed media mural by artist Celso

Old-school throwback mural by OTM Graff Crew founded by graffiti veteran Jonathan Cohen aka Meres One

8 year-old(!) street artist LOLA the (ill)ustrator (read about her HERE)

A mother and her daughter enjoying the work of Brazilian street artist Sipros – now THAT’S what The Bushwick Collective is all about!

If you happen to find yourself in NYC, take a visit to this truly unique neighborhood. And (check out the pics from my first visit to the Bushwick Collective in 2014 HERE)

July 6, 2016

Blog Films Sound and Vision The Candle

Official Selection: Art All Night International Film Festival

by Dan Perez June 9, 2016

written by Dan Perez

Happy to announce that my short documentary film, The Candle has been named an official selection of the Art All Night-Trenton International Film Festival in Trenton, New Jersey. The film will screen on Saturday, June 18th at approximately 4:30pm (films kick off at 3:30pm so get there early and check out the full lineup of films).

Now moving into it’s tenth year, Art All Night – Trenton is a 24-hour (literally) art and entertainment event in Trenton, NJ. AAN encourages any artist of any age, medium or skill level to submit one piece of art of their own creation for display in a gallery-like setting. It is free to submit art and free to attend. At Art All Night-Trenton 2015 over 1,200 artists of all ages, skill levels and mediums submitted work and more than 25,000 people attended.

Art All Night-Trenton is a catalyst for community development, shining a spotlight on the region’s artistic talent. The show includes and attracts artists of all ages and skill levels and particularly encourages children and amateur artists to be actively involved by contributing artwork and engaging in on site activities.

Now in it’s fourth year, the Art All Night International Film Festival puts a spotlight on 150+ international selections including film shorts, music videos and kid-friendly films. ‘The Candle’ features NYC street artist Marthalicia Matarrita and her two brothers Tomas & Jorge and was filmed in the summer of 2013 in a sweltering basement studio in the Bronx. The short 6-minute film tells how they overcame poverty and extreme living conditions through their passion for art…and the light of a candle.

It’s a film I’m very proud of so if you happen to be near Trenton, New Jersey, stop by and check it out – as well as the other great films (and all the art!)

June 9, 2016

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