Thanks for Growler for sending this in, seems Jan Ormondroyd, the Council Chief Exec, has issued a speedy and full apology for painting out the Cheo and 3Dom piece on Stokes Croft the other day. Here’s the chat…
Thank you for contacting me regarding the mural in Stokes Croft.
I have looked into the matter thoroughly and have issued the following official statement to publicly apologise for the mistake.
I would like to thank you again for taking the time to contact me and I would like to assure you that Bristol City Council takes
this matter very seriously and are committed to putting it right.Yours sincerely
Jan Ormondroyd
Chief Executive———
Statement from Bristol City CouncilWe would like to apologise for the removal of a mural in Stokes Croft by our graffiti clean up team.
The mural was removed following a complaint to the council from a member of the public.
However, as this mural was on a privately owned building, the council should have made contact with the owner first to seek permission before removing it and this was unfortunately not done.We will be speaking to the owner to explain the situation and to discuss how the error can be put right.
Well, that’s a turn up for books isn’t it. Not only the right response, but a speedy one too!
Interestingly, and contrary to the policy, she seems to suggest that the council does in fact need a property owner’s permission before removing graffiti, although it isn’t mentioned what would happen if the owner says no.
Still though, as odd as it feels to press this combination of keys, well done Bristol City Council. Will be interesting to see what happens next once they’ve spoken to the owner, watch that space!
We have mixed feelings about the new Taki 183 website (It’s a bit too slick and “commercial” for our tastes) But one thing we did love is that you can download a PDF of the original New York Times article on Taki 183 from 1971 in the biography section.
For us it’s always exciting when you see artists like Jeff Soto hitting the streets again. It’s something Jeff hasn’t done in ten years.
In London for his solo show at Stolenspace, Jeff spent a day putting up pieces in Brick Lane. The photos above are from Sven at Arrested Motion. Thanks Sven!
We’ve highlighted the work of Jan Vormann a few times on the Wooster site. His new work can be found in Berlin, mostly inside holes that have remained since World War II.
Jan tells us – “At some very touristic hot-spot, (kupfergraben corner with Dorotheenstraße) a whole lot of people of all ages spontaneously started “helping” us. Kids, Parents Grandparents. Some of which took the project “to another dimension” with a variation of approaches towards the possibilities of constructing with those little bricks.”
You can find the entire documentation online here.
Seen at the bunker located in Hans-böckler-straße (nordstraße) in Bremen, Germany
(Photo by Jan, nicked from here)
One of the best things about doing the Wooster site is that we get to meet some incredible people.
Our friend Harlan at No New Enemies is hosting a charity event for an extremely good cause – to raise the money for a second ear surgery for a young girl named Sarah. Sarah was born almost deaf and recently got a cochlear implant in her right ear, which helps her hear sounds she never realized existed. The second implant in her left ear has been scheduled for 2009, but since medical insurance will only cover one operation, she’ll have to pay the full 25.000 euro bill all by herself.
To help her out, the wonderful artist Ephameron has brought together work from over 100 artist in a fantastic book all the proceeds going to Sarah’s operation.
You can learn more about the auction here and the full scope of the project here.
The video above is actually quite amazing. The entire lyrics to The Verve’s Bittersweet Symphony is spelled out on trains and on tags.
Homeless in Bergen, Norway
More from C215 here.
We’ve been a fan of Aakash Nihalani’s work for a while now. It was nice to get the following note from him yesterday:
“I saw that post about what people are passionate about, and I wanted to share a project I was very grateful to be involved with. Yesterday, ACNY invited me to do some installations at A Better Place, a permanent housing program in New York City for homeless men and women living with HIV/AIDS. I wasn’t sure how willing the residents were to participate, but their cautions, and my timidity, quickly diminished once we started taping. By the end of the afternoon, they were all coming up with great suggestions on how to interact with their environment; each wanting to pose next to the pieces they helped create.”
You can see more of Aakash’s work here.
