Wynwood Walls "Stories Through The Walls" by Diego Ciudad-Real

WYNWOOD WALLS S T ORI E S T H RO U G H T H E WA LL S

WYNWOOD WALLS S T ORIES THROUGH THE WALL S

E dite d by Die go Ciudad- Real

Royal City Press 1233 Pennsylvania Avenue San Francisco, CA 94909 www.royalcitypress.com Copyright © 2015 by Diego Ciudad-Real All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the address below. ISBN 1305-0-1995000-19-0 Ordering Information: Quantity sales. Special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the publisher at the address above. Orders by U.S. trade bookstores and wholesalers. Please contact Big Distribution: Tel: (800) 800-2345; Fax: (800) 800-9876 Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication data Ciudad-Real, Diego. WYNWOOD WALLS, Stories through the walls: Diego Ciudad-Real ; with Alejandra Mendoza. First Edition Printed in the United States of America 14 13 12 11 10 / 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Credits Project Editor: Diego Ciudad-Real Designer: Diego Cudad-Real Picture researchers: Alejandra Mendoza

CONTENTS 11

WYNWOOD HISTORY

WYNWOOD WALLS

WYNWOOD DOORS

WYNWOOD OUTSIDE WALLS

WYNWOOD ARTISTS 9

WYNWOOD HISTORY 11

WYNWOOD

HISTORY The Wynwood is a neighborhood in Miami Florida that has been getting a lot of attention recently for its development into a center for art and interesting restaurants, bars and breweries. However, very few people know the full history of this neighborhood that dates back to 1917. While Wynwood nears its 100th year, it is time to share its story of humble beginnings, diverse demographics and modern day gentrification.

tions, so it was a haven for saloons and raucous behavior in the early years following the incorporation of Miami. What is clear about the Waddell and Johnson tract is that there were already lots sold long before 1917. EA Waddell was Miami’s first real estate agent and was focused on selling lots on this tract as early as early as 1896 to his friends from Key West. Therefore, Chaille and Anderson may have inherited some lots that were already sold and built as part of their purchase in 1917. Josiah Chaille was one of the founders of Wynwood Miami.

Developed by Miami Pioneers

Josiah Chaille was the son of a William Chaille who opened up a store called The Racket Store on Avenue D (later named Miami Avenue), after relocating from Ocala to Miami. The Chaille family arrived in Miami in 1900, shortly after the incorporation of the city. Josiah would work with his father in the retail business until his father’s retirement in 1912. Josiah would continue to run the business until 1916 at which time he chose to sell the store to the Burdines and go into the burgeoning real estate business.

The Wynwood area was originally sub-divided and sold by a couple of early Miamians: Josiah Chaille and Hugh Anderson. The land that Chaille and Anderson purchased in 1917 was farmland and part of the Pulaski Estate. At the time of the purchase of this tract of land, the estate was being managed by the law firm of Robbins, Graham and Chillingsworth. The land may have also included part of the Waddell and Johnson tract, but it isn’t clear how much of this tract would have been a part of the transaction. Prior to the annexation of this land by the city of Miami in 1913, it would have been a part of North Miami. North Miami was defined as land north of today’s fourteenth street, which was just north of the original Miami city limits. North Miami did not have alcohol restricWYNWOOD HISTORY

Josiah Chaille may have been best known for his work on the Miami City Council. In 1920, the city council enacted a new street name and numbering system in a plan provided by Josiah Chaille. The modern day street names and numbers 12

in downtown Miami and the surrounding areas are directly from this plan. The plan was adopted in October of 1920 and called the Chaille Plan.

The Coca-Cola bottling plant at 301 NW 29th Street in Wynwood, Miami. Wynwood became an attraction for commercial residents as well. In 1928, the American Bakeries Company built a plant to make and distribute Merita Bread at NW 32nd Street in Wynwood. Residents would say that you could smell the freshly baked bread for blocks. The plant took up almost a block between the addresses of 561 through 599 on NW 32nd Street.

Hugh Anderson was a charismatic opportunist who went from a hotel clerk in Chattanooga, Tennessee, to a millionaire promoter during boom time Miami in the nineteen teens and nineteen twenties. In addition to being a part of the founding of Wynwood, Anderson also was involved with the development of Miami Shores and the Venetian Islands. He also was one of the builders of Biscayne Boulevard. Unfortunately, Hugh Anderson lost his fortune and died in 1941 at the age of 59.

Also, Coca-Cola opened up a bottling plant at 301 NW 29th Street in 1926. There was also an Orange Juice bottling plant located in Wynwood around this time. There were plenty of opportunities for working class people to both work and live in the Wynwood neighborhood during its early years.

The partners took out the first plat in Wynwood on January 7th, 1917. However, the men originally called this area Wyndwood. Three months after the two men took out the first plat, the City of Miami built a park on the northern end of this new area and dropped the “d” from the name. The area became known as Wynwood Park. It wasn’t until much later that people dropped the “Park” and just referred to the area as Wynwood.

The Miami Fashion District

The boom years of the 1920s saw the beginnings of the garment industry in Wynwood. The Garment District was the southern portion of Wynwood along NW 5th Avenue, between NW 22nd and NW 29th Streets. Many Cubans who began migrating to Miami in the early 1960s provided much of the work force for this growing industry. The Garment District consisted of both clothing retailers as well as manufacturers.

Originally, the Wynwood Park boundaries were defined by NW 20th Street to the south, NW 36th Street to the North, the FEC Railroad tracks to the east and NW 7th Avenue to the West. After the building of Interstate 95 in the 1960s, the Wynwood neighborhood border was unofficially changed. The western border of Wynwood was now considered Highway 95. This unofficial change eliminated a set of small blocks that were east of NW 7th Avenue and west of Highway 95, between NW 20th Street and NW 36th Street.

According to an article in the Miami News on October 27th in 1980, the Miami Fashion District was part of the third largest garment district in the country. In 1980, there were 225 businesses as part of this district. Wholesale – Retailers represented about $64 million in sales and manufacturers drew about $125 million in revenue annually.

Working Class Neighborhood

As the district got more popular in the 1980s, many of the manufacturers moved out of Wynwood to make room for more retailers. As the value of commercial square footage went up, the manufacturers felt it was better to move to places like Hialeah to be closer to their Cuban workforce. Many of the workers did not have cars and resided in places like Hialeah. Over the course of the last 20 years, many of the businesses in Wynwood’s Fashion District have been purchased by South Koreans. Despite the change in rental rates and the change in business ownership, the Fashion District is still a very vibrant business community in Wynwood.

Since its inception, the neighborhood became an area for working class families. My grandmother and her family lived just inside the boundaries of Wynwood, on NW 23rd Street and just east of NW 7th Avenue. She lived in Wynwood from 1928 to 1945. The house she resided would have been in the portion of Wynwood that was isolated during the building of I-95 in the 1960s. She, and at least one of my great uncles, graduated from Robert E Lee Middle School in the late 1920s. Also, she worked nearby at Don Allen Chevrolet on NW 20th Street and Miami Avenue. Most of the families in the area would have been considered middle class at that time. 13

WYNWOOD HISTORY

Little San Juan

death of the Puerto Rican born baseball player on December 31st, 1972. Clemente died in a plane crash attempting to bring aid to Nicaraguans following a devastating 1972 earthquake in Managua. Robert E Lee Middle School, at NW 32nd Street and NW 5th Avenue, was closed and later was razed to make room for a new middle school that was named Jose De Diego Middle School. The new school opened in August of 1999. Robert E Lee was closed in June of 1989 due to the age and condition of the building. The school was built in 1924.

At the end of World War II, there was a big exodus of

Wynwood residents to the newly developed suburbs. Commercialization and urban flight took its toll on the neighborhood. The old timers, and younger generation that grew up in the neighborhood, moved away. This trend changed the composition of the neighborhood dramatically. The exodus formed a void in the neighborhood that began to be filled with a variety of new immigrants to Miami. In particular, there was a large influx of Puerto Ricans into the area, and the neighborhood began to be known as ‘Little San Juan’ by the middle 1950s. The neighborhood’s demographics represented the first big influx of Hispanics into Miami and it was referred to as Little San Juan over 10 years prior to the area near the Orange Bowl being referred to as Little Havana. The impact of the influx of Hispanics, and in particular the Puerto Ricans, began to change the names of many of the neighborhood’s public places. Wynwood Park was renamed Roberto Clemente Park in July of 1974, following the tragic

WYNWOOD HISTORY

The names of the public service buildings in the neighborhood took on the names of important Puerto Rican figures and terms. The neighborhood service center was named after a Puerto Rican patriot and writer, Eugenio Maria de Hostos. The center is located at 2902 NW 2nd Avenue. A publicly funded outpatient clinic was named Borinquen Health Care Center at 161 NW 29th Street. Borinquen was the ancient name of the island of Puerto Rico.

Local dining spots were called the La Boricua Coffee Shop at 186 NW 29th Street, and Roberto Clemente Coffee Shop, which was located across the street from the park. The churches in the neighborhood were Iglesia Pentacostal Esmira at 36 NW 29th Street and San Juan Bautista, or Little Mission Church, at 3116 NW 2 Avenue.

Given all of her work and accomplishment, the community center in Roberto Clemente Park was dedicated to her and is today called the Dorothy Quintana Community Center. It is located on the southeast corner of the park at NW 34th street and NW 1st Avenue. Dottie Quintana passed away at the age of 101 on March 13th, 2011.

Wynwood on the Decline

Gentrification of Wynwood

Over time the neighborhood began to diversify and include blacks, Cubans, Haitians, Colombians, Dominicans in addition to Puerto Ricans. According to a Miami News article in December of 1977, only 33 percent of the Wynwood population was Puerto Rican. The article stated that another one third of the population was Cuban and the final third consisted of all the aforementioned groups. Wynwood had a population of roughly 18,000 people in 1977.

It may have been the purchase of the former American Bakeries building on NW 32nd Street that represented an early glimpse of what Wynwood would become. By 1980, the bakery was operating as the Flowers Baking Company. In 1981, the company moved out of Wynwood leaving the building without a tenant. The former bakery sat empty for 4 years until a splinter group of the South Florida Art Center discovered the building. Driven out of Coconut Grove by high rents, some of the SFAC artists relocated to South Beach, while others chose to stay on the mainland to look for a suitable home.

By the late 1970s, the Wynwood neighborhood was considered lower middle class. Unemployment was 55% and drug trafficking was rampant. Wynwood was considered a “springboard community” for new immigrants. The goal for working class immigrants was to improve their economic standing so they can leave the neighborhood as quickly as possible.

Led by Helene Pancoast and Faith Atlas, the mainland group formed a nonprofit organization and purchased the former bakery building. In 1987, the 2.2 acre facility opened as Florida’s largest working artist’s space, and was called the Bakehouse. It still operates at that same location and by that same name today.

The unofficial Mayor of Wynwood was Dottie Quintana. Dottie was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico on August 9th in 1909 and grew up in Cuba before moving to the New York in 1927. After getting married, she moved to Wynwood in the late 1950s. Dottie spent her life helping the sick, elderly and children in what became a very tough Wynwood neighborhood.

Fast forward to the middle 2000s and the Wynwood art scene got a big lift when Goldman Properties took interest in Wynwood. Tony Goldman, a force behind the revival of SoHo and South Beach, had a knack for seeing thriving, artsy neighborhoods when others could only see urban plight. Goldman, his daughter Jessica and his son Joey, began buying up chunks of Wynwood’s warehouse district in 2006.

For 10 years, Dottie would often drive the neighborhood at night in her old teal Chevy sedan, and make note of the activities of drug dealers and seedy characters in Wynwood. The next day she would discretely drop off her notes to the police station.

Tony Goldman was a driving force in the gentrification of Wynwood Miami. In October of 2009, Tony Goldman dreamed up an open air gallery of murals called Wynwood Walls. The gallery opened a couple months later to coincide with Art Basel. Goldman’s vision was that the entire Wynwood neighborhood would become a canvas for urban street art. It is a neighborhood that provides a monthly art showing called the Wynwood Art Walk, which takes place on the second Saturday of every month.

Both Dottie and her husband would collect food from churches to give to Haitian Immigrants when they first started arriving in the late 1970s. She helped the Cuban Refugees that began arriving in the 1980s. She was instrumental in the opening of the Borinquen Health Center and the De Hostos Senior Center. Dottie’s work to help the people of Wynwood was a life-long passion and earned her the nickname “Mayoress of Wynwood”.

WYNWOOD HISTORY

Unfortunately, Tony Goldman passed away at the age of 68 on September 11th in 2012. His dream lives on through his children, who continue to run Goldman Properties and invest in the Wynwood community. The Wynwood neighborhood has attracted a number of very interesting restaurants, bars, breweries, art galleries and an assortment of other name brand retailers. While it is a neighborhood that is rooted in humble beginnings and evolved into a melting pot community, it is a neighborhood on the rise. There are plans to build condominiums, a hotel and promises of a lot of new restaurants and retailers. Some in Miami believe that the Wynwood Neighborhood has already surpassed many other nearby neighborhoods in terms of character and charm. If you havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t attended an Art Walk or visited any of the great establishments in Wynwood, now is certainly the time.

WYNWOOD HISTORY

WYNWOOD WALLS 21

THE

before, Goldman Properties added 10 more artists to their roster of Walls. They opened the Wynwood Doors, Tony Goldman’s nod to traditional portrait galleries and expanded the mural program outside the Walls. The Wynwood Walls has brought the world's greatest artists working in the graffiti and street art genre to Miami. Jeffrey Deitch co-curated the first successful year of the project in 2009, collaborating with Tony before his appointment as museum director of MOCA Los Angeles. The project has truly evolved into what my friend Jeffrey Deitch calls a Museum of the Streets," Tony had summarized.

WALLS The Wynwood Walls was conceived by the renowned community revitalizer and placemaker, the late Tony Goldman in 2009. He was looking for something big to transform the warehouse district of Wynwood, and he arrived at a simple idea: "Wynwood's large stock of warehouse buildings, all with no windows, would be my giant canvases to bring to them the greatest street art ever seen in one place." Starting with the 25th–26th Street complex of six separate buildings, his goal was

From around the United States, Brazil, Belgium, Mexico, Portugal, Ukraine, Portugal, Greece, Spain, Germany, France, England, Japan and Singapore, the celebrated artists who have contributed to the Wynwood Walls include: Os Gemeos, Invader, Kenny Scharf, FUTURA 2000, Dearraindrop, FAILE, BÄST, Shepard Fairey, Aiko, Sego, Saner, Liqen, Nunca, Ryan McGinness, Retna, b., PHASE 2, COCO 144, Gaia, Vhils, Interesni Kazki, Neuzz, Swoon, Ben Wolf, David Ellis, Barry McGee, Brandon Opalka, Friends With You, Miss Van, Lady Pink, Fafi, Sheryo, Kashink, Lakwena. Since its inception, the Wynwood Walls program has seen over 50 artists representing 16 countries and have covered over 80,000 square feet of walls. They have become must see international destination, with media coverage that has included the New York Times, BBC News, Vanity Fair and Forbes, who mentioned them along with Wynwood on their list of America’s hippest neighborhoods. The Walls were also a focus of the docu-series Here Comes the Neighborhood, which chronicled the creation and evolution of the Wynwood neighborhood.

to create a center where people could gravitate to and explore, and to develop the area's pedestrian potential. The Wynwood Walls became a major art statement with Tony's commitment to graffiti and street art, a genre that he believed was under appreciated and not respected historically. He wanted to give the movement more attention and more respect: "By presenting it in a way that has not been done before, I was able to expose the public to something they had only seen peripherally." In 2010, building on the momentum of the year WYNWOOD WALLS

Left: Wynwood Walls gates Right: Eyes wide open/ David Anasagasti Next page: We Love/ Muno 22

With each year the Wynwood Walls endeavors to expand its breadth, introduce artists that have never exhibited before in the US and bring world class art to the community.

WYNWOOD WALLS

Up: Shepard Fairey

WYNWOOD WALLS

Up: Untitled/ RETNA

WYNWOOD WALLS

Up: Woman on the wall/ Maya Hayuk

WYNWOOD WALLS

Up: Wynwood Happy/ Kenny Scharf

WYNWOOD WALLS

Up: Radio/ Chor Boogie

WYNWOOD WALLS

Up: Untitled/ SONNI

WYNWOOD WALLS

Left: Native/ Reiner Gamboa Right: Untitled/ Kenny Scharf 35

WYNWOOD WALLS

3 37

WYNWOOD DOORS

THE

DOORS In 2010, Goldman Properties added the Wynwood Doors to the lot adjacent to the Wynwood Walls complex. Tony Goldman turned a piece of land that was formerly a dump into a park with boulders and beautiful trees. On the blank back walls of a section of this land, he installed metal roll-down gates to break up the 100-foot total width, thereby bringing more canvases to the mural project. On the 15 gates and the walls underneath them, his idea was to feature smaller works by artists who don't necessarily work on a monumental scale, and to turn the public on to more of the language of the graffiti and street art movement.

The impact of seeing this bombed-out area and the surprise of the portraits underneath the gates are just what Tony intended. Depending on the vibe, the gates could be rolled up or down to elevate the kind of art being created. For him the roll-down gates are a piece of history that is very much connected to graffiti, like the subway cars. "Roll-down gates were great surface to write on," he said. Wynwood Doors artists include Fafi (France), DALeast (China), and Santiago Rubino (Argentina) among others.

Tony described his vision for the Wynwood Doors: "I wanted to create this kind of 'road warrior,' desolate, deteriorated, forgotten, inner-city street scene that had all of the street frontage closed down with rolling gates. I wanted to wrap this area in gates of different sizes, helter-skelter, and then I wanted to bomb it, write it and tag it—but by the best bombers and writers available in the country, really let it be the worst of a graffiti-laden forgotten neighborhood. This would be my homage and tip of the hat to early writers. And then—because there's always got to be a surprise in a Goldman project—I wanted the opportunity to have, like any museum does, a portrait gallery. I wanted the surprise of rolling the gates up and revealing a whole collection of humanly scaled works by a host of different artists." WYNWOOD DOORS

Right (Up): Teeth-baring pizza/Sheryo Right (Down): Wynwood Doors 38

WYNWOOD DOORS

Left: Legacy/Gaia Right: No arrest/DALeast

WYNWOOD DOORS

Left: Weeding/ Interesni Kazki Right: La Raza/Neuzz

WYNWOOD DOORS

Up: Legacy/Gaia

WYNWOOD DOORS

Up: Woman Rock/FAFI Down: Vhils

WYNWOOD DOORS

Artist: DAZE WYNWOOD DOORS

WYNWOOD DOORS

Artist: Saner & Sego WYNWOOD DOORS

WYNWOOD DOORS

4 49

WYNWOOD OUTSIDE WALLS

THE

OUTSIDERS The Wynwood Walls have migrated to include murals outside the park in the surrounding neighborhood. Termed Outside the Walls, these epic murals cover sides of buildings and sometimes the entire building, creating breathtaking surprises down each block of the neighborhood. Outside the walls artist have included Interesni Kaski (Ukraine), Faith47 (South Africa), and Swoon (USA).

OUTSIDE WALLS

Down & Right: 50 Cakes of Gay/KASHINK 51

OUTSIDE WALLS

Up: Mural/AVAF

OUTSIDE WALLS

Up: Gutterball/POSE Down: Interesni Kazki

OUTSIDE WALLS

Up: Multum In Parvo/ Faith47

OUTSIDE WALLS

Up: Bombs/ IRAK

OUTSIDE WALLS

5 57

WYNWOOD ARTISTS

Aiko [TOKYO, JAPAN] The fun-loving and sexy energy of Lady Aiko... Aiko arrived in Wynwood in 2009 with a special tube containing the large-scale hand-cut stencils that she had spent days preparing in her studio. She had already been painting murals in public spaces, from before street art had the massive appeal that is does today, but the Wynwood wall was one of the biggest opportunities she had been given, and she knew that this one would be extra special and challenging.

Born in Tokyo, Japan and has lived and worked in New York City since the mid 90’s. She received a BFA at Tokyo Zokei University in the field of graphic design and filmmaking, before taking her MFA at The New School, NY graduating with honors in Media Studies. For Wynwood is palpable, the Japanese artist, who resides in Brooklyn, had just returned home from Rome when she heard from Jeffrey Deitch about the mural project. "I was inspired by the classical elements in Rome and its streets and museums when I began to sketch the images. Also, Miami is place for parties—people come there to have good time, and I wanted to make something gorgeous, festive, exciting for everyone, with positive energy."

AIKO

In 2013, Aiko updated her mural inside the Wynwood Walls as part of the Women on the Walls Project. Aiko states "I'm very happy to see that every year the Wynwood district becomes a more central place for art and lots of people are getting to see the murals.” Down: Artist AIKO Right: Stencil process/ AIKO

AIKO

Up & Left: Untitle Wynwood/ AIKO

AIKO

b. [ATHENS, GREECE] A sea of objects is how b. describes... His colorful and detailed mural. From far away you may not be able to make out the individual forms and how they interplay with each other, but as you get closer you can see Christmas trees, stuffed animal characters, military tank, birthday cakes, hamburgers—anything and everything that people consume or throw away. “I’m influenced a lot by supermarkets, TV advertisements, all these huge toy stores, all that architecture of shopping, which is everywhere.” b. believes that we make a pattern of random things in the choices we make, and he wants to show that this is the world that we create.

ourselves.’ I was thinking that we must start with ourselves instead of waiting for someone to come in from somewhere else to save us.” b. painted the Wynwood Walls in its third year, and it was his first time in the United States. Also trained as an architect, b. finds the Wynwood Walls space particularly interesting because it has a number of uses or functions—as a gallery, a bar, a restaurant, a pedestrian area—in an open space. “I think a lot of people will copy this idea around the world,” says b., who can be found working on a wide variety of projects at his studio, thisismybworld.

“For a long time, living in Athens, Greece, I was thinking about what can I do to show a little bit how I am feeling about the life we live and what is happening. It’s like a crisis of not having things, especially in Greece because of the big economic crisis and debt. I did a piece in Athens with an SOS flag, as if to say, ‘Save us from the mess we’re making’ or ‘Save us from b.

Up: Artist b. Right: Painting process/ b. 62

UP: Untitled/ b.

UP: FLY/ b.

Fafi [YOULOUSE, FRANCE] Best known for her curvy, sassy characters... manufacturing deals, countless press stories, and many solo and prestigious group shows in the most respected galleries around the globe. In addition Fafi has also authored a few books featuring her Fafinettes.

Born and raised in Toulouse France, Fafiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s strong presence in the graffiti and fine arts scene was first witnessed on her hometown walls in 1994. Other successful figurines would follow, as well as numerous expositions and collaborations with Colette, Adidas, LeSportSac, Coca-Cola and countless press stories in the most prestigious magazines (ie. Vogue, Elle, The Face, XLR8R, Yen etc...).

As part of the Women on the Walls program for Art Basel 2013 Fafi created a beautiful mural constructed entirely of flowers on one of the gates and also collaborated with Joey Goldman on a mural of one of her Fafinettes inside the Wynwood Doors.

These Fafinettes explore femininity through stereotypes then uses them to her advantage, Her Fafinettes are sexy, aggressive, and stylized. In doing this Fafi not only changed the perception of what street art should look like she also gained notoriety which led to a makeup line with MAC cosmetics, toy

Left: SLOPE Flower Wall/ Fafi Next Page (Left): SLOPE Flower Wall Process Next Page (Right): SLUT Flower Wall/Fafi

Fafi

Ryan McGinness [VIRGINIA, USA] Communicating complex and poetic concept... Born1972 is an artist known for meditative paintings, installations, and screenprints. His work brings a graphic sensibility into a high art context and explores how contemporary iconography can communicate personal meaning. Born in Virginia Beach, VA, McGinness studied fine arts at the Carnegie Mellon University while working as a curatorial assistant at the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, PA. McGinness’s work is held in the Museum of Modern Art in New York, NY, The Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego, CA, and the Charles Saatchi Collection, among other institutions. In these works, he offers his own distinct version of the female nude, a constant throughout art history. While some might find that the abstract nature of these images mutes their sensuality, the artist disagrees. “These drawings are my version of what

Ryan McGinness

is sexy,”“Two parallel desires drive these new Women drawings: my desire to simplify and iconify the underlying visually logical geometries inherent in my figure drawings in order to better understand my subject matter, and my desire to embrace and capture the purely aesthetic experience of graceful curves and sensual forms inherent in my models.I am more attracted to these drawings than I am to the women who make them possible.” Regardless of personal preference, no one can deny that the artist’s illuminated ladies are a brilliant addition to the Wynwood Walls. Down: Artist Ryan McGinness Right: 33 Women Process

Ryan McGinness

Up: 33 Women/ Ryan McGinness

Ryan McGinness

Up: Untitled Ryan McGinness

Ryan McGinness

Up: Untitled/ Ryan McGinness

Ryan McGinness

Up: The Lazy Logic of Ignava Ratio/ Ryan McGinness Down: Only a Thief Thinks Everybody Steals/ Ryan McGinness 77

Ryan McGinness

DB Burkeman [LONDON, UK] The DJ and sticker man... Whether you’re a punk, skater, graffti artist, musician, clothing brand, political activist, wne artist, or just a fan of a band, stickers have always been the perfect way to express oneself. It portays vibrant world of street art, DIY culture, music, and branding. Cheap, democratic, easy to “tag,” and not always fast to fade, the sticker has been an ever-present medium— from the New York and London underground punk scene to skate culture and political expression. Celebrating the graphics of this street-art medium, this mural illustrates the timeline of this pastime, from counterculture to politics.

As part of Tony Goldman‘s ongoing Wynwood Walls project in Miami, the Stuck-Up Piece of Crap crew were given their own wall. The concept is about people putting whatever they want on the wall, in order to express ther fellings toward society, politics, religion and other topics about life. Through this mural he want to make a new way of expression. Down: Artist & DJ DB Burkeman Left: Stuck-Up Piece of Crap label Next Page (All): Stuck-Up Wynwood Wall

DB Burkeman

Kenny Scharf [NEW YORK, USA] Spontaneity and fun are my heart... Kenny Scharf, born in Hollywood, California in 1958, first came to artistic prominence in the early 1980s in New York, along with artists Keith Haring and Basquiat. Scharf placed his bright imagery, drawn from television and pop culture, on the streets and in nightclubs of the city, helping to nurture a dynamic and freewheeling scene.

us to take it to the streets and the nightclubs and let loose and not take yourself too seriously because that is stifling!” Kenny’s spirit and his belief that art should be appreciated for the experience rather than the price tag continue to inspire younger generations.

Kenny Scharf’s wall for Wynwood, the piece reflects the impulse and speed of the artist working in the street, and his popular cartoon-like characters are instantly recognizable. Like his contemporaries Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat, Kenny was inspired by graffiti’s freedom and the direct connection street art gave him to people outside of the art world. “In the late 1970s it was a natural reaction for

Kenny is also a master of customizing objects ranging from household appliances to Cadillac cars. So when Tony Goldman asked him to transform a vintage Airstream trailer for Wynwood, it was a natural extension of Kenny’s work. Inside the trailer you are transported into a black-lit world, where ordinary objects—and even the possessions of the trailer’s last inhabitant—are painted all around you in eye-popping Day-Glo colors. Up: Artist Kenny Scharf Right: Wynwood Happy Process

Kenny Scharf

Up: Wynwood Happy/ Kenny Scharf Right: Trailer Interior/ Kenny Scharf Next Page: Bowery Mural/ Kenny Scharf

Kenny Scharf

RETNA [LOS ANGELES, USA] Unique style... wood Walls mural from the walls he had done in Los Angeles. He emphasizes the part community plays in his artistic process.

Retna (aka Marquis Lewis) is an American grafitti artist who was born in Los Angeles, California in 1979. Since first creating a name for himself in the early 1990s, Retna has become an “eternal broadcaster” of sorts, shining a light to the kinetic urban soul of Los Angeles RETNA was honored to join the Wynwood Walls in 2011 as he sees Tony Goldman’s project as an integral part of the community that brings world-renowned artists and an art audience to the Wynwood center.

“New York had its heyday, LA was the mural capital, and now it’s probably Philadelphia — but when it comes to graffiti and street art, I find it really interesting that Miami is the only place in America where you can get all of these people together. There are a lot of people who don’t like this stuff; people go to jail for it—obviously if you tried to do something like Wynwood in LA everyone would get all bent out of shape. Maybe even people that don’t understand it that much see it, and the more they see it, the more they love it. And all of that helps keep me going.”

RETNA started with graffiti and developed his own alphabet with influences from Chicano gang writing in Los Angeles as well as calligraphic traditions from Egyptian to Mayan to others around the world. As a stylistic change, he painted large white letters on a red background to differentiate his Wyn-

Down: Artist RETNA Left: Calligraphy/ RETNA

RETNA

Up: Untitled RETNA Left: “Salva los espiritus santos”/ RETNA

RETNA

Up: “Salva los espiritus santos”/ RETNA 93

RETNA

Up: Untitled RETNA

RETNA

Up: Untitled El Mac & RETNA

RETNA

Kashink [PARIS, FRANCE] Currently living in Paris... Kashink picks up inspiration from many different cultures in her travels around the world. She considers herself not only a street artist but a street activist. Her vividly colored murals often feature men, whereas most female painters usually paint female figures. The men she paints are usually large and hairy, and almost always having four eyes.

theme of masks, the taboo subject of death and the various ways to deal with it especially in the latino culture. For the Women on the Walls program for Art Basel 2013 Kashink continued an ongoing movement to paint 50 cakes of Gay, around the world in support of equal rights in regard togay marriage. The 50 cakes are beautifully adorned wedding cakes in brilliant colors. KASHINK is a surprising person: as most female painters represent female figures, she only paints men, preferably fat and hairy.

Artistically speaking, her big inspirations are very diverse, such as Gilbert and George, Keith Haring, Frida Kahlo or Charles Burns. The characters include tough yet sensitive gangsters, alien-looking ogres, and shamans from ancient tribes. Some of them are gay, some of them are killers, some others are a little of both. Most recently she has been taking on various themes: the absurdity of social interactions through the Kashink

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Shepard Fairey [LOS ANGELES, USA] The well renowned Obey... “Obey” campaign and for his Obama “Hope” poster. His mural for the Wynwood Walls, visible from 2nd Avenue, is a stunning example of his wheat-pasted work. When Shepard first heard about the project, one of the things that impressed him most was the idea that the outdoor pieces curated for the project would not only be very accessible to the public, but that they would also be maintained. Knowing that the walls would be protected provided an incentive for him to design and create a pasted mural that is more polished than what he would be able to do without permission. He prepared the poster backgrounds and painted figures specifically for the size of the wall, building on the images he was focusing on at the time, and using them in a modular way by combining newer motifs with older images.

While the idea of an outdoor art oasis with his favorite artists was appealing, Shepard was also attracted by its proximity to Art Basel and the excitement about art that the show and its satellite fairs create. Ultimately, he believes that good art in public should be something cities support. As an extension of the outdoor mural, Shepard designed the logo and indoor walls for the Wynwood Restaurant and Bar during the second year of the Wynwood Walls. Working with Tony and Jessica Goldman on the project, it was a great opportunity for him to demonstrate a symbiotic relationship between fine art and design. Left: OBEY/ Shepard Fairey Down: Shepard Fairey Working

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Right: Raise Above/ Shepard Fairey Left: Tony G. Tribute/ Shepard Fairey

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