Stencilland & Jazz Nacional

I went by The Post Bar after work today to pick up the stencil art I reserved following my Graffitimundo tour. I mentioned the bar on Flickr, but didn't post about it here. Basically, this bar has been decorated by the coolest street artists of Buenos Aires. In exchange for decorating it, they got use of the back room and upper level as a cooperative way to sell their works and as an exhibit space. 

Going outside the tour was amazing. I walked into this divey bar, all covered in graffiti and went straight to the back room. It's through the kitchen and the door was closed. I just walked right on through and back into the gallery. 

During their open hours, there is always an artist there. I was lucky enough to meet Stencilland, the guy who made this great stencil.

I ended up talking with him for about twenty minutes.

He shared his inspiration for the idea, which comes from the sad fact that many kids in Buenos Aires juggle at intersections to raise money. The kid here is, in fact, juggling alcohol, drugs, violence and an eaten apple. 

Roberto said that juggling is the only skill these kids develop and that's what he wanted to share in the work. It's an entire sad generation.

I bought a print of this piece, in addition to the other one I reserved. They work well together. Him and I talked, all in Spanish of course, about his method, what he's trying to do with his artwork and why he isn't seeking fame. He said he just loves to paint. I think that's a perfect answer.

I also stopped in a record store on my way home. I was browsing around and found a national jazz section. This album stuck out to me. It's a really talented musician named Javier Malosetti.

A double necked bass? How can I not buy this?

I also picked this one up, after telling the cashier that I played bass. He suggested Alejandro Herrera, a more funky bassist from Argentina. Both of these records are national labels. I never would have found them from the US. 

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I'm glad to be finding such inspiring artists in BsAs. Only now do I realize that I've never saught out and had a discussion with a professional artist in the US. I think that's something I'm going to get more into.