OFF THE WALL: STREET WALL @ FOURTH WALL PROJECT

People showed up in droves this past Saturday at the opening reception of Street Wall at the Fourth Wall Project near Kenmore Square. The eight street artists (The Phantom, Geoff Hargadon, Nanook, Blackmath, Radical!, Zatara, Tiptoe and LNY) brought a collective energy with screen printing, wheat pasting and traditional graffiti.

The imagery throughout the show was alluring, and yet, unsettling at times. The street art movement shakes up the norm, so offbeat images are meant to question popular culture and open the eyes of viewers.

From Zatara’s provocative piece with a nude Medusa-like figure to Nanook’s painting of a man dragging a horse, the show stimulates intrigue and perplexes the mind.

Or some messages just stick in your head like Geoff Hargadon’s colorful “Cash for Your Warhol” signs hitting on the over-production of art. His campaign can be seen in street locations across the world.

“Some work when taken off the street and into a gallery loses its context and flavor. The artists in this show have a style that works on and off the street,” said curator William Stitt.

Street art being presented in a gallery is definitely new to Boston.

The Fourth Wall Project is a DIY space that supports public work projects and alternative art. Owner Oliver Mak said, “We want to be a resource for the community that brings shows that wouldn’t be here normally.”

Performance art came throughout the night with anti-hero Gorilla Street Artist—one of the many characters The Phantom uses to satirize the art world and corporate media.

At the show, the video above introduced the Gorilla Street Artist. He wanders the streets of LA, ripping up a newspaper and indulging in a “master pizza,” the masterpiece of Mona Lisa turned into pizza. Then an infomercial plays starring an accent heavy man named George. He says he came to this country for the American dream, and invites viewers to “Come and enjoy my franchise. Fuck art and eat pizza.” The clip ends with an endorsement from the Gorilla Street Artist for Mr. Master Pizza that looks like a mock up of Pizza Hut’s logo. Through humor, The Phantom’s theatrical performances critique the art world, which is a prevalent theme in his work.

Later on, The Phantom appeared dressed up as Gorilla Street Artist with his muse Roxy Rocker and started rapping “No Tea Bagging on the Dance Floor.”

If you don’t want a ticket you better zip it…

If you want a show you better pay your dues

Ain’t much better if you play it with your jewels…

Coz it’s so easy it’s so right

To Teabag it all night

No one likes a brown noser, and especially not The Phantom, who believes popular street artists like Banksy and Shepard Fairey have glorified their careers by promoting themselves to mainstream media.

From LA, The Phantom aka Joey Krebs has been active in street art for over 20 years, and he is known for designing the album art for Rage Against the Machine’s The Battle of Los Angeles. This signature style came through with the Street Wall figure designed for the show.

“I thought the positive responsive support of the Boston audience showed great courage in daring to engage with a radical critique and exhibition like Street Wall,” said The Phantom.

The screen printing training session led by AntiDesigns also brought a fun interactive aspect to the opening. The show will be up until Feb. 23, so make sure to check it out! The Fourth Wall Project is certainly pushing the boundaries of Boston’s typical gallery culture mostly represented in the South End and Back Bay.

FOURTH WALL PROJECT
132 BROOKLINE AVE.
BOSTON
FOURTHWALLPROJECT.COM

Photographs by Sara Afzal.