Graffiti vs. Street Art: TEAM ROBBO vs. BANKSY

Yes I'm still blogging on London. LOL

Recently a conflict erupted between BANKSY and ROBBO--a widely respected writer form London's old school. The conflict arose after BANKSY dissed a ROBBO piece on a wall along the Regent’s Canal in London. The piece had remained untouched since 1985.The fact that it remained untouched was a testament to the fact that writers in London have a deeply held respect for prior generations. Last Christmas ROBBO came out of a long retirement to retaliate. A loosely knit team of ROBBO supporters was formed under the name TEAM ROBBO. The supporters have participated in an artistic conflict with BANKSY in which art works are defaced in a game of witty one-upmanship. The story became international news and the conflict came to represent the larger conflict between street art and graffiti art.

@149st recently interviewed ROBBO, CHOCI and other TEAM ROBBO members.
Visit site: www.at149st.com/robbovbanksy.html

London Hand Styles

London Hand Styles is yet another great book on the London scene. This is a book focuses on the most important, yet overlooked form of graffiti--the "tag". It is an incredible collection of tags from a broad scope of writers in London. It also features commentary from the artists that offer an intimate look at the hearts of "real" writers. Here is one of my faves from ROBBO. "We was in yards five nights a week. We didn't bother with the weekends, that was for part time school boys who hotted things up"

From the publisher: London Hand Styles is a full colour 160 page book with over 800 images documenting some of London's finest tags from the 80's through to the present day.

Also featured in the book are words, quotes and legendary tales from London's most notorious and prolific writers including SUB, SHAM, DIET, DRAX, MEROK, DZIA, ZOMBY, REGRET, 2 KOLD, PANIK, 10 FOOT plus many more.

With the clean up operation now well under way, sadly you can no longer see the work of London's most infamous writers... ...this book allows you never to forget.

www.londonhandstyles.com

London Burners

Just peeped a great new book by Jete Swami called London Burners published by Prestel. It is an amazing collection of paintings and artists in action on the London Underground. A must have.


From the publisher: A young photographer explores the artistry and adventure that goes into the incredible graffiti of London's overground and underground trains.
Some of the most outrageous graffiti art in the world barrels through the city of London in a blur of color. These moving canvases and the people who create the dubs or burners are the subject of an electrifying collection of images by photographer Jete Swami. As a teenager, he hung out in sidings and soon learned to paint trains, all the while taking photos and filming his friends-which he continues to do today. In revealing interviews with the photographer, these artists speak out about the joys and dangers of bombing and burning their tags, throw-ups and pieces on to London transport. In addition to vibrant reproductions of the works themselves are shots of the artists as they work under cover of night or scramble to avoid arrest. A unique collection of London's most dazzling high-speed train art, London Burners captures the intensity of this most urban of artistic expressions.
Check out the Youtube promo.

London Train Bombing

I just read this in the Harrow Observer. Seems like artists across the pond can not resist painting steel either.

THREE young men from Pinner have been jailed for up to nine months, and a 17-year-old for eight months, after admitting to their part in a graffiti campaign targeting London Underground trains.The sentences were handed out amid emotional scenes at Southwark Crown Court on Friday (9) as the defendants' families looked on.
Read full story.

RAMMELLZEE RIP
2001 Interview with RAMMELLZEE

TRUCK ART A Decade of Graffiti

TRUCK ART A Decade of Graffiti
Tod Lange & Paul Cavalieri
Schiffer Publishing, Ltd.
Soft Cover 160 pages 290 full color photos

I have eagerly awaited this book for some time. It was well worth the wait. For about ten years TL ONE has been hosting an exclusive invitation-only painting spot near New York City. The canvases at this location are tractor trailers, mobile homes and other vehicles destined for scrap. Some of New York City's most well known writers have painted there. In addition to work by TL ONE and CAVS the book features paintings by about 50 writers including BLADE, GHOST, HENCE, MAZE, MONE, NOAH TFP, PART ONE, POET, POES, REAS, SEIN 5, SPAR ONE, TEAM GO CLUB, WANE, WOLF, ZEPHYR and others. A great collection of burners and blockbusters spanning a decade.

Grab it!

Meet the Original Stay High 149? I ain't buying it.

A few weeks back this video by Steven Hager of High Times Magazine came onto my radar.

It is an interview with Luis Berrios. Most of you in New York's urban art community are probably aware of the fact that Berrios is claiming that he wrote STAY HIGH 149 before Wayne Roberts did.

Initially it piqued my interest, but only for its trivial if not amusing nature. But, after giving the deal a bit more thought, It really got under my skin.

From my perspective there are several big holes in Berrios' story. First up, when Berrios came on the the scene in the late '80s early '90s he told several writers who were active at the time that he was STAY HIGH 149, but he neglected to tell them that he was NOT the STAY HIGH that became famous on the subway, in New York Magazine and in Norman Mailer's Faith of Graffiti. The fact that he waited until the 2000s when Roberts came back on the scene to make the distinction is suspicious.

Second thing is when Roberts came back he would occasionally append his tag with "Since 1969'". I found it odd that Berrios did not begin to claim to have started writing in 1966 until after the Roberts "Since 1969'" tags began to appear.

The few supporters that Berrios has--few of which are writers, by the way--state that Berrios has nothing to gain because he admits Roberts made the name famous. On the contrary, Berrios has plenty to gain. STAY HIGH 149 is one of the most, if not the most celebrated and influential tags in New York's history. There is plenty of glory to be had in saying you played even a minor hand in creating it. In the graffiti world an individual has to devote significant time and effort to earn a place in history, even as a footnote.

STAY HIGH is a common nick name in the hood. There are dozens of them. Just like all the CHINOs, SHORTY WOPs, LIL MANs and BLACK BOYs, there are plenty of STAY HIGHs. Perhaps Berrios did write STAY HIGH. I won't contest that, but there is only one STAY HIGH 149 and that's Wayne Roberts... Voice of the Ghetto!
http://www.stayhigh149.com/content/bio/stayhigh149-bio.html