No Matter What It Is

A tiny paster from Nomatter Whatness.

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Funky Souls

A Baby King from Nomatter Whatness holds its fist up high on Sunset Blvd.

Next to a sticker from Funky Sole.

Not a First Kiss, but a Real Love Kiss

So this couple walked by right at the time M&F was snapping street photos of this bus bench takeover from Nomatter Whatness on Melrose.

M&F asked the young couple if they wanted to pose for the bench.  The guy agreed, and asked "What do you want us to do?"  M&F said, "I dunno.  Maybe kiss like the art?"  The guy was down like Charlie Brown, but the girl shrieked and acted like she was surprised by his boldness.

M&F snapped a pic then asked if it was their first kiss.  "No", the dude said, but it was clear that this was a real love kiss.

Dig it~

"If You Were --'This Tall'-- You Could Be My Girlfriend"

Haha.  A dude standing with his hand over the girl as if to say 'If you were this tall, you could be my girlfriend'.

Better find someone who can measure up soon, dude.  As the paster from TBD says to the right, 'Sex is Coming' then 'Death is Coming'.

Just be like the Nomatter Whatness piece and get your kissing on.

Before death is coming, better get some 'cumming' in first.  And by the way, short girls are sexiest~

Nomatter Whatness - Tag It Up!

Nomatter Whatness introduces a new kind of old tag to the streets.  Sure, graffiti tagging is one of the fundamental elements of getting up, but Nomatter Whatness introduces an old school red shopping tag, like the ones found in thrift stores or mom and pop shops.

Click the jump to check out a whole series of tags from Nomatter Whatness left around Silverlake.  At first, it just seemed like these were tags.  Then after we saw a couple we flipped one around and realized that there is a hand written poem on the back of each one.  This particular one said:

Soon you'll learn
In a casual way
That I was gone for good
When I left that day

Dig it~

Also check out the route of the bus in the background.  Sunset to Pacific Coast Blvd--sounds like a nice ride!

It is Tempting, To Dwell on What We Did Wrong

Nomatter Whatness gets pasted up in Silverlake with a piece that says 'It is Tempting, To Dwell on What We Did Wrong'.

Indeed.  Or the perceived wrongs others have done us.

Stay up!

The Longer I'm in Town

Street Art in Silverlake from Nomatter Whatness and Thrashbird.  Both artists really have the streets on lock in this area.

The stencil from Nomatter Whatness on the right says 'I'm not much on sticking around.  Things just seem to sour the longer I'm in town'.

Kiss in the Shadows

Paster from Nomatter Whatness getting up with a portrait stencil of two young lovers making out in the shadows.

Riding Long Time (pt. 2)

Part 2 of the massive art wall riding for a long time in downtown Los Angeles.

Tons of ups from Mr. Ramano, Pastey Whyte, Adrian Brody?, Patrick Martinez, Casket Cult, Biafra, ASVP, Nomatter Whatness, CMYK, Cali Love and much more.

There is so much all the action can't fit into the top pic.  Click the jump for a humongous 19 pic pictorial.

Call Me for Action

A lot of action getting it on at this classic spot along Melrose.

With pieces from Bandit, The Ceremonies, Why Denmark is Broke with #Newspeak, Nomatter Whatness, CMYK saying 'Call Me', and more.

Click the jump for a huge 10+ pictorial with all kinds of close ups

Street Art is for the Outdoors, Not Your Living Room

There seems to be an epidemic of stores in Los Angeles cashing in on street art and making money off of art that is not theirs.

Yesterday, M&F posted how a store has been selling prints taken from photograph's of street art, without the artist's consent and without compensating the artist in any way.

Well, currently there is another store in Silverlake that has found itself embroiled in a street art scandal.  The store called the 'Living Room' is actively selling street art pieces taken from the streets.  Some of the current items for sale are shown in the picture above.  It sells the pieces from $200-$500 and has sold, or is selling pieces from street artists including Teacher, Army of One, Nomatter Whatness, RS70 and more.

This store seems to appreciate the monetary value of the street art, but not the process or what it takes to get there.  According to a current worker at the Living Room, and possibly the owner(?), when asked if he felt if the street artists should receive some portion of the money the store is making by selling their items, the guy at the living room replied "Fuck em".

Some people, and even some artists feel that once a piece goes on the streets, whatever the fate of that piece turns out to be is fair game.  And that seems to be the Living Room's opninion as well.  But this is not the first time that M&F has covered the folks at the Living Room.  Not only does this business rip art from the streets to sell, but they have also straight ripped off artists.  Last year, M&F posted this article about 'How the Stuffed Animal Revolution Got Stolen'.  The story detailed how street artist Heartschallenger created a stuffed animal revolution, and then how that artwork got copied, stripped of meaning, and then sold in a Silverlake store.  M&F emailed Heartschallenger to ask if that store was the Living Room, and Heartschallenger confirmed that it is one and the same.

And to add a big more intrigue, the Living Room is the same store where Bandit hit with a piece warning against street art piracy.  Bandit placed the piece here after hearing what was going on.  Some people in the street art community have derided Bandit for 'spot jacking' by putting his piece up next to a stencil on the Living Room building from the original street artist and Banksy influencer, Blek le Rat (pic shown below). The Blek piece is a commission piece, and reportedly the owners of the Living Room invited Blek to paint the wall because they are 'lovers' of street art.  M&F has been nothing short of impressed with the way that Bandit has made his statement about street art through street art.  Last we heard, the Living Room had removed the door that Bandit had placed the piece on and intends to sell it.

This is so fascinating, because on one hand the Living Room is pirating true active street art, while claiming to be lovers of the same scene which they are openly disrespecting and violating the terms of.  Some folks feel that commission walls are the ultimate, some folks might feel that the big names from yesterday need to be respected no matter what, and some folks might not feel that what the Living Room is doing is wrong.  But the true lovers of the scene realize that it is wrong to pirate the egg without ever taking care of the hen.  Furthermore, there is no greater crime in the street art world than copying and stealing another artist's work, and this example is the most blatant we have ever seen.  It is the definition of a hi-jacked sell-out.

Bottom line is, it is morally wrong to hurt the scene that helping you.  And once again, artists need to be aware and careful with their art.  Once you put something on the street, there is no guessing what might become of it.  It is a wise decision to trademark your work, which does offer some legal protection against situations like this.  And M&F has, and will always champion active street artists over those with fuzzy relationships to corporations that are bad for the street art community.

Street art is made for the outdoors.  Keep us out of your living room.

Stay up, Los Angeles~

Tag Whatness

Nomatter Whatness gets pasted on Melrose across from Tag.

Fix It

Hand painted paster from Nomatter Whatness encouraging lover's to fix it.

Phobia of Phobia's

A romantic's list of phobia's from Nomatter Whatness.

Things Just Seem to Sour the Longer I'm in Town

Silverlake street art combo spot with multiple pieces from Nomatter Whatness.  Both appear to be relationship themed.  One says 'You Were Supposed to Hold Onto Me', and the other reads 'Things Just Seem to Sour the Longer I'm in Town'.

Also joined by a peeling paster from Smog City x Euth and TBD Photography.

Don't Turn Around! (There's a Monster!)

Hand painted piece from Nomatter Whatness encouraging you to turn back around and fix it if you love him.

But be careful if you do turn around, there is also a 5-eyed monster!

A Romantic's Biggest Fears

Nomatter Whatness gets pasted with a list of some of the things a romantic might fear.

Spotted in Silverlake.

Dumped Up

It might not look like much from afar, but this dumpster if full of little gems of street art including pieces from Fael, Smear and Nomatter Whatness.

Also, what looks like a fat drippy tribute tag to recently deceased graffiti legend Nekst.

Turn Back Around & Fix It

Brightly colored wheat paste from Nomatter Whatness saying 'Turn back around and fix it.  You love him'.

Go Small, Get Noticed

You don't necessarily have to go big to get seen and get noticed.

Here is a small wheat paste from Nomatter Whatness that blends perfectly with the surroundings.