THURSDAY THROWBACK: "CONCRETE ALCHEMY TOUR..2008"

KASSO and DELVE..along with 13 other artist from the east and west coast were apart of an aersol artists tour called CONCRETE ALCHEMY sponsored by "Albus Cavus". For two weeks in the spring of 2008, these artists painted 4 large scale murals in 6 days...coinsiding with 3 gallery shows, which spread from NY to Maryland. All of the artwork for the gallery shows was also done on tour.


The integrated methods of S.A.G.E. Collective were seeded on this tour. All the walls were fully integrated and multi layered. SAGE collective philosophy about the intuitive creative process also was founded within "Concrete Alchemy".

For more info about the tour, follow these links and check out the video:

Photos of all the walls produced via ARTCRIMES: www.graffiti.org/ca/index.html

CONCRETE ALCHEMY INTERVIEWS:
www.albuscav.us/concretealchemy/

CONCRETE ALCHEMY VIDEO:

Throwback

Delve, Lank, and Paper Monster

S.A.G.E. COLLECTIVE at GARDEN SK8 PARK!

DELVE

LANK

WILL KASSO

DELVE, LANK, and KASSO each contributed to the relief efforts at GARDEN SK8 park in Pinebrook, NJ. The park was serverly damaged during Hurricane Irene, leaving the park submerged in 3+ feet of water. Artists from all over the country donated their time and creativity to re-produce artwork within the park...culminating into what is the largest indoor graffiti instillation in the country!

On Saturday, Nov. 5th, 2011(originally 0ct.29th but cancelled do to less than ideal weather conditions). GARDEN SK8 will reopen its doors to celebrate its recent makeover in what is shaping up to be one of the livest art parties of the year! With performances by MANNY D, VENEOMOUS 2000 and DJ PRIORITY, ANIMAL CRACKAS and Trenton, NJ's own BLACK COLLAR BIZ, its sure to be a great time!. The show kicks off at 6pm-12am.




Black Collar Biz


Venomous2000 & DJ Priority

Animal Crackas


MANNY D

Highland Sfumato

On the weekend of Oct 8th and 9th, 2011, SAGE collective was invited back to the Highland Design Farm to produce another massive mural project as part of the Hopewell Tour Des Arts. Last year, our combined efforts resulted in the HIGHLAND SENTINEL, which was the first mural of its kind in the Hopewell, NJ area.

This year we had to spread out and work in sections. Unlike the HIGHLAND SENTINEL, where we all worked in close proximity, this project had us in different locations to start, so we had to jump around a bit. We also had more square footage to cover with this project, but at least this year, unlike last year, majority of the work was done on the ground and not on ladders, so that in itself was a blessing.

LUV1 kicked things off with a murky background primed into the first section of wall. He then rendered a few crystals and gems busting out of the far right corner. The gems then spilled into his trademark Celtic knots with earth tone loops and swirls. KASSO came in and added a few mid tone geometric shapes that balanced out the composition which then flowed into DELVE's hollow straight letter spelling out his name. From there, LANK stenciled in an owl which help carry the far left corner, along with KASSOs abstract colorful shapes that morphed into robotic bird. Between the bird and the owl lay an image of an fetus, which represented the patron, Sean Mannex, in saying that the Design Farm is his "baby". It was also a nod to Leonardo da Vinci; being that one of his famous images is one of a dissected fetus from his sketch journals.

Turning the corner, LANK painted an image of a welder forging a massive abstract image of twisted colorful shapes painted by KASSO, which flowed into LUV1's energetic black, white and grey composition that framed a pre-standing wooden structure of the Chinese alphabet layered in gold. This was then book ended by LANK's stencil images of two lions....which gave the impression that they where guarding a secret gate or passageway of some sort.

DELVE began his section with his usual abstract minimalist approach. Working with a muted color palette, his shapes start in a circular graphic manner, then stretching out into KASSO's portrait of Leonardo da Vinci. KASSO chose the reference of da Vinci from a drawing the renaissance master did of himself at the twilight of his years. Like DELVE, KASSO decided to run with a limited palette, but incorporated a few pop colors to break things up. LANK dropped his lion statue stencil next to the portrait and also nuts and bolts stencils around DELVE's graphic shapes. The nuts and bolts are elements from last years mural, which tied in both murals with a similar theme.

LUV ONE flowed off the portrait and was inspired to paint a hand with a glass of Absinthe...implying that da Vinci is drinking the controversial cocktail. Along the other side of the structure, AJA worked her contribution; an abstract mesh of subdued colors in a swirl of galactic splendor. LANK capped off the section with a stencil of a compass anagram which spelled out all of our names.

After two exhausting but fun days of work, the hardest part was finding a title for the mural. With the underlying theme centered around da Vinci, we decided to go along with title "Highland Sfumato". "Sfumato" being a renaissance term meaning, in part, "areas blending into one another". Our goal with this project, as with all of our projects, was to keep everything well integrated. No one person can claim an entire wall. Each member of SAGE has a piece of every wall...from a small corner to a huge section. It was truly a collaborative effort.

Special thanks goes out to the Highland Design Farm for having us out yet again and for the unprecedented hospitality. Also a big thanks to "Liquitex Artist Materials" for the donation of FREESTYLE brushes used during the production of this project.


S.A.G.E. Collective

not according to plan

I started painting this piece at an event, but it got shut down (thanks to a negative state rep or city councilwoman or whatever her title was). I wanted to see it through to completion since I only had a pencil sketch, so I finished it on Illustrator. - Delve

Jersey Fresh 2010

shouts to all the crews SAGE, VS, ATC, FUA

flick by Ricardo Barros

Soul of the Message

Photo courtesy of Ricardo Barros of the SAGEs.

On April 8, 2011 at 219 Gallery in Trenton, NJ, S.A.G.E. Collective's first exhibit as a collective successfully opened.  Over one hundred people from all over Trenton and surrounding areas made the trip thru the rain to see the artwork and meet the artists responsible for over a dozen murals in Trenton itself. The music performers, who were going to be on the street like a siren calling visitors from the capitol, had to move the show inside because of the rain, which made for a very cozy scene.  Windows fogged, house packed, the art show became part concert!  The first video is a virtual walkthru of the exhibit for all those far away who can not make it to see the works in person. All the artists really worked hard and pulled off some amazing pieces.





Many thanks to all those involved and everyone that came out! The artwork will be on display by appointment for the next month, if you're intersted in stopping by email Kasso Below are a few snippets of the incredible talent Trenton has on the mic who came out to support...Hustle MC, Polo, and Black Collar Biz...BIG ups!

Friday Night Live

Huge thanks to Joel Price for the great photos used in this video! S.A.G.E. Collective live art at the Community Arts Center in Wallingford, PA, music in the video is Dave Manley Trio who also played live at the event.

S.A.G.E. published in Utrecht Catalog!

Our mural entitled "Highland Sentinel" was recently published in the latest Utrecht Art Supply catalog. This is a huge honor and we are very appreciative to have our work featured! If you take a look to the left hand side of the page, there is an image of crew member LANK doing a demo with the new Montana Gold line!

Visit Utrecht art online for more info:
www.utrechtart.com/

S.A.G.E. COLLECTIVE

The faces behind the collective...

Big Blue

Press for the BIG BLUE Mural...LANK above holding the original outline for the wall
www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2010/11/art_lover_and_landlord_work_to_1.html


SAGE Collective paid a visit to Newark Ave. in Jersey City this last weekend and left behind a life size 90 ft. blue whale.  Many thanks to Dylan Evans and the Jersey City Mural Arts Program for having us out!  Big props to Lanky Lank for cutting a stencil that size!  Thanks to the community for showing us love all weekend long!  Hope to see more murals going up in the area soon, if anyone has a location they think would work please hit us up.  Below is a video and some flicks from the weekend.  Enjoy.  one love - LUV1

RIP Raritan River Art Walk

I recently heard the news that the Raritan River Art Walk caught the buff because the city of New Brunswick is no longer supporting Albus Cavus's project there. Very sad indeed. It got me looking thru my flickr set reminicing.  Here's a slideshow of some of my favorite flicks I took there over the years. If you like the work, remember all this is now buffed out thanks to the city New Brunswick, let them know how you feel about it, SUPPORT LOCAL ARTISTS

Below is an example of the SAGE works done there...  Many of these walls below were still running, until the buff I'm assuming.  Still haven't made my way over to see for myself.  When I do...:) it won't be sad, just a new begining!

"Highland Sentinel"

The sound of rattling paint cans invaded the pastoral landscape of Hopewell, New Jersey this past weekend as S.A.G.E. Collective completed a commission for The Highland Design Farm. Artist/designer Sean Mannix commissioned "Highland Sentinel" after seeing KASSO and LUV 1 working on the "Buddah Barn" just down the road from his converted farm. Formerly a working chicken farm, the buildings have been converted into a collection of artist studio spaces and we were asked to work on the large exterior wall of what was once a two story chicken coup.

Inspired by an old drawing of Sean's and his beautifully machined designs we put together loose plans for an abstracted face amongst a background of gears and wires. The painting took place during the Hopewell Tour Des Arts, a two day open studio tour in and around Hopewell Township. Mother Nature cooperated by providing two amazing days for painting (not a cloud or drop of rain in sight) and once we rescued KASSO from the wilderness on Saturday morning we got to work laying out the wall.

DELVE handled the nose, mouth & chin while KASSO scaled the ladder to lay out the eyes, forehead and abstract designs to the right of the head. LUV 1 went to work on a background of stained glass, abstract shapes & wires while Lank brought large gears from the background to the foreground and filled the deep space with an amalgamation of smaller gears. The two day process was a true collaborative effort, bouncing ideas around and amassing the artwork in a freeform and organic way, resulting in an amazing production.

The visitors to the farm, most having never seen a mural put together quite this way, enjoyed the show and were full of questions that we were happy to answer. Special thanks have to go to Sean and his family for providing unparalleled hospitality and fully supporting our vision for the wall. Check out the photos and enjoy video!

-Lank

Ackryte - Realize EP

My man Ackryte's album drops today,  check it out the cover features mine and Delve's section of the abstract wall painted at Terracycle Inc. Ack's beats are classic chopped up chilled out funky soulfull hip hop...don't sleep.  Here's a flick of the whole wall...LUV1

SAGE at the Center for Contemporary Art in Bedminster, NJ

sushi!, originally uploaded by el U Vee 1.

Delve, Kasso, and Luv...SAGE Collective at the Somerset Art Association, http://www.somersetart.org/ soon to be renamed the Center for Contemporary Art, Bedminster, NJ. We painted 5 8ftx4ft wood panels that will be turned into a makeshift wall this week for display outside the gallery for the next three months. If you're in the area, go check it out!

Chester Community and Youth Center

Many thanks to Paul Downie for having us out and the city of Chester for showin' us massive love

Pedagogue of Young Gods

About five years ago, KASSO and I collaborated on a small production to honor Saul Williams, a brilliant contemporary poet. We recently decided that it was time to do it again - bigger and better! In keeping with the intentions of the first mural to both honor Saul and get his message out to the people, we chose an excerpt from his song "Pedagogue of Young Gods" that resonated with us and, we hope, all those who see the wall, either in person in Trenton, NJ, or online: "An education is the only thing given that cannot be taken. Learn to think for yourself, analyze the forsaken." I painted these words into the colorful clouds from LUV1's sunset. (The sunset in the figure's chest is an allusion to a line from another one of Saul's pieces entitled "Seaweed".) But I'm getting ahead of myself.

As for the mural production process, I believe it was LUV1's idea for us to shake things up a little bit. Therefore, I was to do the portrait rather than LUV1 or KASSO, who usually do the figurative work. I selected a handful of photos from the Saul Williams Flickr pool and, with input from the crew, chose this picture by Riny, who graciously gave me permission to use it as a reference and supplied me with a beautiful high resolution file to work from. Since the whole mural is about Saul, I wanted his portrait in the center of the wall, high up to preserve the literal and metaphorical point of view of the audience looking up at him. KASSO did the wing on Saul's back in a continuation of his City of Angels project. LUV1 and AJA wove their intricate designs together to flow into and form the body of the poet. LANK really tied the wall together by forming the moon, sprinkling in the stars, and stenciling in the SAGE logo. As we completed the mural, Trenton-based poet Raul Cortes (POLO) contributed his reading of "Pedagogue of Young Gods" [check it out in the awesome video LUV1 put together] to our effort of honoring Saul and his words. Finally, Ricardo Barros generously photographed and assembled the composite image of the mural you see above.

On behalf of the S.A.G.E. Collective, I would like to thank Saul Williams for the poetry, music, example, and inspiration he gives us. I'd also like to thank Riny for the spectacular original photograph, POLO for the wonderful reading, and Ricardo for the beautiful picture of our wall.

Peace,

-DELVE

Happy Little Trees

Spring Jam 2k10, originally uploaded by el U Vee 1.

LUV, LANK and DELVE reppin SAGE @ the Spring Jam 2k10 in New Brunswick, NJ. check the flickr (follow the link when u click the flick) and see some other pictures. was a difficult stitch this one, we were under the stairs and in a corner. prime spot to be seen, bad spot to flick. some of the close ups provide better accuracy on details. fun day! good times! bob friggin ross, big ups to LANK for the 6 ft stencil and trees throughout, and to Delve for coming funky and crispy like you knew he would! 1 - LUV1

Graffiti Heaven

Graffiti Heaven, originally uploaded by el U Vee 1.

S.A.G.E Collective and VS CREW

This is the second wall in the CITY OF ANGELS series entitled, GRAFFITI HEAVEN...a collaboration between S.A.G.E Collective and VS Crew. It was only right to do this wall at Terracycle Warhouse www.terracycle.net/ which is a landmark within the east coast graffiti scene. RAIN and DEMER of VS Crew held down the lettering duties while myself and LUV-ONE rocked portraits and background. Delve produced his usual abstract flare while Lank Williams Jr. produced some stencil angels based off of Michelangelo sculptures.

Other than the intense heat, we all had a great time painting. Special thanks to Ricardo Barros www.ricardobarros.com for the photo documentation of this production and Raul Cortes, Jr. for his words of inspiration which grace our wall.

peace
-Will Kasso

Easter Wall

easter wall, originally uploaded by el U Vee 1.

Hello friends,

Happy Easter, if applicable, otherwise happy almost officially spring! Writing you to share a new mural by SAGE Collective artists Delve and Luv1 in Flemington, NJ. We took advantage of the gorgeous day and painted a beautifully balanced colorful abstract aerosol wall. Check out the flick and time lapse. As always, feel free to share and let it shine.

Many thanks!

Peace,
Luv1