Street art on screen at Istanbul Modern

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

This photo shows a scene from ‘Next: A Primer on Urban Art,’ an exploration of graffiti as a worldwide cultural phenomenon. It will be screened at Istanbul Modern.

A film series at the Istanbul Modern Cinema is taking a look at reflections of street art in cinema. Organized in partnership with the Consulate General of the United States, Istanbul, the selection of seven films started yesterday with “Wild Style,” which is regarded as the first hip-hop motion picture.

The program will trace trends in graffiti and street art across five continents with “Bomb It,” and end with “Exit Through the Gift Shop,” a Best Documentary nominee at the 2011 Academy Awards.
There will also be a discussion panel, “Art After Dark,” on May 26 at 2 p.m., including graffiti artists Cedar Lewisohn, Brad Downey and Tunç Dindaş. A workshop featuring Brad Downey and live demonstrations from Turkish artists, including Turbo, Fly Propaganda and Wyne, will round out the museum’s focus on street art.

The other films to be screened in the program include “Style Wars,” which captures the look and feel of New York’s ramshackle subway system as the public playground, battleground and spectacular artistic canvas of graffiti artists, and “Next: A Primer on Urban Art,” an exploration of graffiti as a worldwide cultural phenomenon. “Next” won the “Premio del publico” award at the 2006 Documenta Madrid.
“Beautiful Losers” is a film that focuses on the careers and work of a collective group of artists who began an art movement in the 1990s influenced by the popular underground youth subcultures of the day, such as skateboarding, graffiti, street fashion and independent music. “Bomb It” is an international graffiti and street art documentary.

“Bomb the System,” follows Blest, a 19-year-old graffiti artist, who has just graduated from high school. He spends his time bombing the city with graffiti messages until he and his crew become the graffitists most wanted by the NYPD Vandal Squad.

The last film in the series, “Exit Through the Gift Shop,” is the story of how an eccentric French shopkeeper and amateur filmmaker attempted to locate and befriend famous street artist Banksy, only to have the artist turn the camera back on its owner.