EWOK ONE WEBSITE RELAUNCH

EWOK Blazin' out of Brooklyn with a fresh shine on his web site.
Dope content as always.
www.mr-ewokone.com

Cincinnati street art and graffiti

I was recently invited to participate on a panel on street art and graffiti at the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati.

The panel was held in conjunction with the Shepard Fairey Supply and Demand exhibition. The discussion was moderated by CAC director Raphaela Platow. My fellow panelists were Pedro Alonzo, curator of the Supply and Demand exhibit; Christian Strike, founder of the Country Club Gallery in Oakley and Iconoclast Productions.

The Supply and Demand exhibition was amazing. Fairey also did a series of murals throughout the city as an extension of the exhibition. During my down time I wandered the downtown area and grabbed a few shots of local graffiti and the Fairey murals.

Street Art and Graffiti Panel Discussion

The last day to see Shepard Fairey: Supply and Demand is Sunday, August 22. To celebrate the final weeks of the exhibition, the CAC is offering two new programs:

Monday, August 16 at 6pm
Contemporary Arts Center Cincinnati

Street Art Panel Discussion
Join us on Monday, August 16 as Raphaela Platow, the CAC’s Alice & Harris Weston Director and Chief Curator, moderates an engaging panel discussion on street art. Experts on both street art and graffiti will discuss the role of these art forms in today’s society. The panel discussion will be followed by a question and answer period and is open to the public. Admission is free courtesy of Macy’s Free Mondays.

Panelists:
Pedro Alonzo – Shepard Fairey: Supply and Demand curator
Christian Strike – founder, Country Club and Iconclast Productions
Eric Felisbret – graffiti historian; co-founder, at149st.com; author, Graffiti New York


FaireyTrek SCVNGR
Obey the hunt! The CAC has launched an interactive game on the SCVNGR platform to help people explore Cincinnati through the Shepard Fairey murals around town. Smart phone users can find the game at the iPhone App Store or Android Market. Played on a mobile phone, players complete challenges related to the murals in order to earn points, rewards and a unique FaireyTrek badge. Separate Media Alert to follow.


For More Information: Visit http://contemporaryartscenter.org/ or contact us at 513.345.8400

Press Inquiries: LeAnne Anklan lanklan@contemporaryartscenter.org 513.345.8421

LEE Quinones turns 50

I recently attended a small gathering of friends to celebrate the 50th birthday of the world's oldest teenager, no not Dick Clark.. LEE Quinones.

ERIC HAZE hosted a "Roast of LEE". On hand were friends, artists and actors including Charlie Ahearn, Raquel Cepeda, COCO 144, Martha Cooper, Jane Dickson, FREEDOM, Luis Guzman, Sacha Jenkins, KET, Rosie Perez, Annabella Sciorra, STASH, TERROR 161, Tamara Warren and many others.

Two nine-year-olds rack and bomb

This story recently ran in the Great Lakes Advocate. It brought to mind a young FUZZ ONE.

Nine-year-old’s graffiti rampage
14 Jul, 2010 09:39 AM
TWO nine-year-old children have been cautioned by police after vandalising the Boronia Park playing fields.

The children stole cans of spray paint from a Breese Parade business between 12.15pm and 1.15pm last Wednesday before making their way to Boronia Park where they graffitied the club house and other property.

It took graffiti buster Ted Bickford 15 hours to remove the damage. The attack on Boronia Park is the most recent Mr Bickford has dealt with over the last fortnight. Others have occurred on the Pioneer Monument in Macintosh St, a church and several public toilet blocks. Mr Bickford urges people to report graffiti as soon as they see it.

Represent London (graffiti)

Great London web site.
www.representlondon.com/index.php/blog/

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

FREE 5 Site Relaunch

FREE 5 has relaunched his web site. Lots of great art!
http://free5.net/FREE5/FREE5.html

Doze Green "Taino" print release

Yo! Peace will be releasing a new hand-pulled serigraph by Doze Green,
featuring his classic character style on June 11 2010.

"Taino" is a signed and numbered edition of 100. White ink on Arches
Black paper (250gsm). 11 x 30 inches (28 x 76 cm).

Onsale at yodepot.com at 1pm (PST) on Friday, June 11.

http://yopeace.org/doze_green_taino_print

Style Wars Restoration Project

The classic film Style Wars is by far one of the most exceptional documentations of our culture. An important restoration project is under way-- MARE 139 dropped some knowledge.

MARE 139: The Style Wars project is an integral part of urban art culture as well as a document of American art history as it chronicled a pivotal period of the art vs transit movement and the art vs itself epoch. The capturing of all these dynamic elements, which had been in play for years before, is a testament to the sociopolitical environment in which many young people who where disenfranchised found empowerment via this art called 'graffiti'. The film was a mirror for us who were active writers and served as window to the rest of the world of the conditions that forced us to use creativity and 'vandalism' as a self certifying means of expression. I use the term 'vandalism' lightly as one can see from the film the movement was a counterinsurgency to the economic and political 'vandalism' imposed on us by city governance.

This absence of resources gave birth to the Hip Hop movement and street art movement, it was an issue of scarcity and personal necessity that one can see from the vantage of the writers in the film. Keep in mind this is a time capsule in which Tony Silver and Henry Chalfant captured as much of what was in front of them as possible, the culture and art was widespread throughout the boroughs and it was a diverse group that was a part of it, the film manages to be honest for its time and place and though not meant to be an end all be all film about the culture it has many of its seminal players of the time and also captures a glimpse of what the future was to hold for the movement.

It is vital to understand the influence of such a film for the sake of history, culture history and cultural rights. We have in the past 20 years seen the culture bend and expand into new spaces and interpretations which is a double edge sword because so much of it has no reflective connection to the generations that proceeded it, this disconnect is apparent in today's youth so much so that it has created a great divide among young artist and the cultures pioneers. Also included is this dilemma is market of art which has no interest in the history of this art in particular, granted the world has moved beyond the subways and the art of the time to some degree but the implications of a movement like this and a film that captures it is vital because its global influence and affect on art and culture has transcended any period of art before it in artistic participation.

Saving the archival footage and including additional materials will safely preserve an important archive of NYC history as well as the individual legacies of those involved. It is important for people who are involved in the culture or interested to help preserve this film since there is no archive equivalent to it nor is there one as compelling. It is a part of a bigger puzzle being pieced together by our community to tell our story and to honor those before us and that is where cultural legacy and rights come into play because by and large these issues are contained by larger institutions that buy out and shelf these archives to later apply all kinds of restrictions to access and fair use. This is our history our story and we have a right and duty to preserve and share it accordingly. Those who want to get involved should visit the website and donate money or time to the effort. We are scratching the surface but I feel that as we continue to engage in self determination and through the cooperation of the public and the creative community we can see this project restored and preserved for future generations.

Go to www.stylewars.com for more info.

Graffiti vs. Street Art

It seems that it is becoming increasingly difficult for graffiti and street art to coexist peacefully. Feels like a bit of a culture clash is erupting.

Sad thing to see this amazing mural by Fairey get banged up. ADEK and a few others did throw ups on it, not once but several times.

First and foremost I'm a fan of graffiti and I'm rarely excited by street art, so I'm a bit biased in the war. But Fairey is talented and put in real work on the street well before his commercial success. He has also collaborated with many writers including NYC LASE and COPE 2. I also dig ADEK, He is a classic street bomber with a sweet throw-up and memorable handstyle. He's had the Lower East Side locked for at least three years now.

I can only speculate on what ADEK's motivation is. Could be retaliation for work Fairey dissed. Could be a territorial statement. Who knows? It could also be part of the growing tension between (graffiti) writers and street artists.

Writers have been taking public space for decades and established a set of rules and terms of respect for each other's work in the race for space. A lot of street artists apparently don't know the rules or don't care to abide by them. They regularly apply wheat paste and stencil work over well-established graffiti artists.

By the same token most writers have complete disregard for street art. They will paint over it without hesitation. Many writers see street artists as art school chumps and don't expect them to toss knuckles when their work is dissed.

The war will be interesting to watch.
Eric Deal

Animal New York has a shot of the earlier attack.
http://animalnewyork.com/2010/05/shepard-faireys-may-day-mural-bombed/

Mirage art exhibition and KDM67 apparel launch

Mirage art exhibition and KDM67 apparel launch. Featuring original art, drawings and sketches by the late Mirage KDM.
Thursday - June 3rd 2010
7:00pm - 11:00pm
At: Genuine Motorworks
195 N14th Street,
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11211

The Writing on the Wall (Eric Deal Interview)

The Writing on the Wall (Eric Deal Interview)
by Emily Johnson
http://vimeo.com/11669430

Icelandic Designer Creates Costlier Vandalism Tool

Animal New York dug this up a while ago.
Icelandic Designer Creates Costlier Vandalism Tool
It brings vandalism to a whole new level.

Banksy Drawings in New York City Hit by Taggers Overnight - WSJ.com

Banksy Drawings in New York City Hit by Taggers Overnight
Eric F. quoted in the Wall Street Journal today.

NYC Arts Cypher Presents MURAL Documentary Premiering at the SI Film Festival 2010

The NycArtsCypher is an official 501c3 Non-profit organization. The mission is to promote positive values through arts and entertainment programs, projects, and events. The MURAL documentary is based on the creation of the NycArtsCypher's graffiti arts program of the same name.

Follow the NETWORK-PERFORM-EXCEL formula as various teens (ages 13 to 19) from the north and south shore of Staten Island get to explore the art form controversially known as Graffiti. Veteran graffiti artists from all over NYC, and local community figures state their case on the art vs vandalism issue.

The NycArtsCypher establishes its multimedia networking facility as an outlet that provides a safe environment for young artists to practice their art responsibly. These participants are shown Blackbook, aerosol, and brush techniques, learn history, and street rules. Then they get to do their own thing.

Watch as the kids "Get Bizzy" and prove that graffiti art can be positive.

Artists: Gano Grills, Meres, Trace, Tats Cru, Lask, Echo, Prez, Trace, Die, Geoff Rawling, Stem, Exit, Jenna Morello,

Community figures: Senator Andrew J. Lanza, Assemblyman Mike Cusick, Assembly Woman Janele Hyer Spencer, Dennis Mckeon (Where to Turn)

Produced by: Charlie Balducci, Matthew Adams, Earl Moseley Jr., GIT Beats, Sensei Walingh

Sponsored by: Shamrock paints, COAHSI, Independent aerials, Tatoot Bags, United Auto Collision

MURAL Trailer

SprayMasters directed by Manny Kirchheimer

SprayMasters is an breathtaking film!! In addition to revealing interviews with some of the movement's most well-known artists director Manny Kirchheimer delivers wonderful cinematography featuring rare and exclusive footage of many historic subway paintings. Highlights include double subway car murals DIRTY SLUG's "SL" "UG" LEE Quinones' Heaven Is Life-Earth is Hell, and work by masters like PADRE, SLAVE and others. This is a classic!

From Cinema Guild
In SprayMasters four ex-graffiti artists reflect on their early years as renegades who snuck into rail yards and decorated New York City subway cars with stolen paint while eluding arrest. Now in their forties and embraced by the establishment, Lee Quinones, Lady Pink, and Futura 2000 are prominent artists with an international following, while Zephyr is a widely published journalist who writes about graffiti and popular culture.

They talk about the extreme risks they took as teenagers, the joys of seeing their work on subway cars, the diverse styles of graffiti, its global reach, and its place in modern life, where it has been co-opted by advertising and fashion. Directed by Manny Kirchheimer (Tall), SprayMasters s a follow-up to his underground classic Stations of the Elevated (1980), one of the first films to feature New York’s infamous subway graffiti.

Although the exuberant painted trains are gone, they live again in Spraymasters in rare, never-before-seen footage, set to an electrifying original musical soundtrack that evokes the heyday of graffiti.

Directed by Manny Kirchheiner
2008, 85 minutes

Full information may be found at www.cinemaguild.com

* World Premiere, Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2008
* Official Selection, Rotterdam International Hip-Hop Film Festival, 2008
* Official Selection, Gothenberg International Film Festival, 2009
* Official Selection, Max Ophulus Preis Film Festival, Germany, 2009

"A must-see" – The New York Sun

MAY DAY: Shepard Fairey @ Deitch Projects The final exhibition before the galley's closing and Mr. Deitch's departure to serve as the Director of The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.

A spectacular exhibition of Fairey's work drew a crowd with lines extending around the block.

Shepard Fairey, Jeffrey Deitch, Fab 5 Freddy
Shepard Fairey, Salman Rushdie, Jeffrey Deitch

New york City Graffiti

New york City Graffiti
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VnK1s7iIoA&feature=related
http://www.at149st.com

SATURDAY MARCH 6TH
7:00 - 10:00 PM
100B Forsyth Street
New York City
D or Btrain to Grand Street

100B Presents
THE LOWER
EAST SIDE
An Exhibition curated by SPAR ONE


FEATURING LES ORIGINATORS
Come own a piece of the LES and get
your black books signed by the orignal
LOWER EAST SIDE writers SPAR,
SNIPER, BOMB1, ARCHER and
ERO+LA2 successful artists from the
early 80's.
A never before exhibited BASQUIAT piece from ERO's private collection will
be exhibited!

One Night Stand
Historic Graffiti Show featuring living legends
Live Graf Body Painting
Fashion Show
DJ Vinyl Richie
DJ Uncle Tone
Performances by members of HIP HOP HOWL!
Hosted by Miz Metro & Circa *95

350 Bowery btwn 3rd & 4th St
6 train to Bleeker or Astor
F to 2nd ave

GALLERY 151 will be moving on location to it’s sponsors
new Building 311 VILLAGE GREEN on east 11th st (www.311e11.com)
THE ELEMENTAL SERIES will be opening February 25th 2010