There's an artist in here somewhere...

Earlier today, we noted that famed camouflager Liu Bolin would, uh, camouflage himself in Kenny Scharf's mural on the Houston/Bowery Mural Wall today...

Here's a photo via The Wooster Collective...

[Photo by Samdarko Eltosam]

You can find more photos here.

Liu Bolin will camouflage himself in the Kenny Scharf mural today

Well, all sorts of things happening this week at the Houston/Bowery Mural Wall ... To the news release!

Liu Bolin Camouflages Himself in Popular Kenny Scharf Mural

On June 21, world-renowned Chinese contemporary artist Liu Bolin will camouflage himself into a popular Kenny Scharf mural for his first live painting/ performance piece in the United States. The work will mark the first time Liu Bolin will collaborate with another contemporary artist. Kenny Scharf's colorful, spray-painted Houston Street mural has received an incredible amount of both attention and accolades since it went up on the corner of Houston and Bowery in Lower Manhattan on December 10, 2010.

"Bringing together two of the most influential contemporary artists of our generation, both who truly represent their cultures, is an important moment in New York City’s art world” explains Marc and Sara Schiller from Wooster Collective. "We're thrilled that this once in a lifetime project has come together and can't wait to see the results."

The performance was conceived by the New York based curatorial group Wooster Collective, and Eli Klein Gallery who is bringing Liu Bolin from China. It is supported by Goldman Properties, the owner of the property and longtime supporters of public art throughout SoHo.

We don't know what time this is happening just yet...

Bolin at work in Paris:

[Image via]

What's next for the the Houston/Bowery Mural Wall?

We were curious how much longer Kenny Scharf's mural would stay up on the Houston/Bowery Mural Wall. Scharf started his mural back in late November.

Now we know... thanks to this handy-dandy news release ...

Tony Goldman is pleased to announce the Inside Out Group Action: "Lakota, Dakota Nation" at the Houston/Bowery Mural Wall.

This is the sixth project at this historic wall after the Kenny Scharf spray paint mural; it will be presented on June 23, 2011. The Inside Out Group Action: "Lakota, North Dakota" will highlight the Standing Rock and Pineridge Native Reservations — some of the most important Native American reservations whose impoverished and forgotten communities have suffered unspeakable hardships. The Lakota, Dakota Nation group action is to show that the people in this community are still struggling to hold onto their native way of life.

Community leaders work with their people to teach their traditions, history, and ceremonies - knowledge which is critical to their collective survival. The Inside Out Project "Lakota, Dakota Nation" is intended to shine a light on this rich culture, for which they are fighting daily.

Inside Out is a large-scale participatory art project that transforms messages of personal identity into pieces of artistic work. Everyone is challenged to use black and white photographic portraits to discover, reveal and share the untold stories and images of people around the world.

The INSIDE OUT project is a creation of the artist JR, recipient of the 2011 TED Prize.

How will people view this project? Someone bombed the Scharf mural three times.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Latest addition to Kenny Scharf's mural: Security cameras

And on the seventh day ...

Kenny Scharf's quick work on Delancey

EV Grieve reader IPinchU came across Kenny Scharf creating a quick mural on a rolldown gate next to the Bowery Ballroom last night...

The lonely job of cleaning Kenny Scharf's mural

As noted yesterday, Kenny Scharf's mural was bombed again on Houston and the Bowery... (BoweryBoogie reports that it was hit twice now in the last few days...)

And this evening, a worker just started the clean-up process...

Kenny Scharf mural bombed for the third time

Well, three by my count... once here ... and here..

On keeping 'street art safely pristine'

Nice piece in Artinfo about the ongoing drama with the Kenny Scharf mural on Houston and the Bowery. (Read the article here.)

The article, written by Emma Allen, focuses on the surveillance cameras and alleged 24/7 mural guard put in place by the wall's owner, Tony Goldman and his Goldman Properties ... to the article:

"There's no guard there now," countered Tony Goldman's prickly personal assistant, when asked if Goldman Properties had hired someone to protect the work. To which Goldman himself added in an email: "We had a guard there while the paint was drying," after Scharf touched it up. "There were many people in the street and we did not want the new paint damaged. The cameras remain."

And!

"While the guard may be gone, larger questions of whose job it is (if it is anyone's) to keep street art safely pristine persist. Beginning in 2008, the works created for the East Houston space — collaborations between Goldman and galleries around the city, from Deitch Projects to The Hole, to Kasmin — have been executed by artists whose 'street art' sells in galleries and at auction for thousands of dollars. And while it seems logical to try to protect such valuable, and often beautiful, artworks from the destructive impulses of ruffians, the Houston Street wall once in fact was the uncontested terrain of those who made art outside of, and often in opposition to, the art establishment."

And Billy Leroy has the best line, which ends the piece: " ... it's funny, five years ago no one gave a shit about the wall, and now it's become the epicenter of the art world."

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] 24/7 security guards now on duty at the Bowery-Houston mural

[Updated] 24/7 security guards now on duty at the Bowery-Houston mural

Apparently those surveillance cameras on the Deitch Wall aren't enough. Billy Leroy at Billy's Antiques sends along word that Goldman Properties have hired 24/7 security guards to watch over the often-bombed mural on Houston and The Bowery.

Updated at 1:45: Billy reports back... turns out Goldman did hire security, though they were only for until the paint on Scharf's work from Saturday night dried...

Yesterday on EV Grieve:
[Updated] Kenny Scharf restores his mural

[Updated] Kenny Scharf restores his mural

We've been following the saga Of Kenny Scharf's mural on Houston and The Bowery... it has been bombed ... restored ... and bombed again...

The Late Adopter has this shot of Kenny Scharf on the scene last night restoring his mural...

And here are a few others courtesy of The Late Adopter...

The Late Adopter also has video here.

Bucky Turco has more at Animal New York.

New York Post discovers Deitch Wall

The Post checks in today with a lengthy spread on the mural on Houston and the Bowery... And if the story seems familiar to you, then you're probably right... The blogs have been on this story for a long time... Specifically, Animal NY... such as with this piece from Dec. 27 ...

Anyway! A few comparisons:

The Post:

And it worked. Out of respect for the names on the wall, the mural was left alone. Ironically, regular folks were inspired to write their names in pen, adding their contribution to the piece.

Animal NY from Nov. 15:

With the exception of a few tags, no prominent graffiti writers have bombed the Deitch wall that TWIST and company spray painted months ago in the Lower East Village, but there has been plenty of John and Jane Doe’s leaving their mark—Tumblrs included. It’s kind of ironic that vandals have mostly respected the wall, while the general public hasn’t, no?

Animal NY's Bucky Turco has more on the story here.

Credit for pointing out these similarities go to @Newyorkist ... More here. Reporter likely just got confused. Just another day in the newsroom ...?

Read Jeremiah's Vanishing New York for more ... in piece titled, "Post pillages East Village."

Do those security cameras on the Kenny Scharf mural really work?

Yes they do, says Billy Leroy, who first passed along the tip that someone had installed security cameras here on the wall at Houston and the Bowery after the latest Kenny Scharf bombing...

A few people questioned whether these things were actually working...

Billy, the proprietor of Billy's Antiques, checked in with the wall's landlord... and learned the cameras are active and recording the wall 24/7.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Latest addition to Kenny Scharf's mural: Security cameras

Latest addition to Kenny Scharf's mural: Security cameras

The Kenny Scharf mural here on Houston and the Bowery has been bombed twice now... (here ... and here)

After this, several people mentioned that someone mounted security cameras here... Sure enough, as we saw last night...

Kenny Scharf mural bombed again

Previously. AnimalNY has a shot too.

Kenny Scharf's mural restored

After getting tagged a few days ago, Kenny Scharf's mural at the old Deitch Wall has been cleaned up... from a few minutes ago...

Meanhwile, via Animal NY, famed graffiti photographer Martha Cooper expresses disappointment in what happened to Scharf's work. Writes Cooper at 12ozProphet: "Much as I admire vandals, I feel these perps were mean-spirited and heartless." Be sure to check out the wall here on Houston and the Bowery circa 1983.

Scharf Attack: Deitch Wall tagged

Billy Leroy, proprietor of Billy's Antique's, passes along these photos ... noting that the Kenny Scharf mural on Houston and The Bowery has been hit...

Updated: Sorry... missed that Animal NY already had this... See their photos here.

A week or so in the life of the Deitch Wall

Kenny Scharf's work is done at the Bowery and Houston ... here's a look back...

Nov. 22

[Photo via Eddie Brannan]


Last Wednesday! (This image via BoweryBoogie)



Friday!



Saturday!



Sunday!



Monday!




Last night...

And on the seventh day...

Kenny Scharf's work is done on the Deitch Wall, a day early even, as Gothamist noted. In all, it took him 100 hours spread out over six days...

Your daily Deitch Wall update

The Lo-Down ... BoweryBoogie... and AnimalNY have more on the mural... Animal's Bucky Turco asked Kenny Scharf if he thought any graffiti writers might tag the new work here: "No, I’m not Shepard Fairey. Not to knock him or anything, but I’m not putting up wallpaper made safely in a studio.”