Deep in an undisclosed location below the streets of Paris, the Underbelly Project lives again. Since Brooklyn’s temporarily secret guerrilla art gallery saw 100 graffiti and street artists, the French edition’s crew has been downsized to ten (FUTURA, SABER, more) plus a small flock of photographers and organizers. Read more »
Famed Graffiti Photographer Isn’t a Fan of Graffiti
Martha Cooper, a photographer who made a career out of shooting graffiti, isn’t happy about the recent vandalism done to Kenny Scharf’s mural. She said the writers were “mean-spirited and heartless.” To articulate her point, she showed a vintage photo of the wall from 1983 featuring the artist’s work, among others, that’s even more bombed out than it currently is. (Photo: Martha Cooper/12ozProphet)
Graffiti Writer Was Asked to Bomb TWIST Wall
So, permission was given to a very active graffiti writer to bomb the TWIST mural on Houston Street, it was given by the artist himself. The Hole Gallery, which is now responsible for curating the wall, said Barry McGee asked one “his local friends to do a SACE tribute,” before the wall undergoes another seasonal transformation. Read more »
He’s everywhere! In addition to the Deitch mural and a COPE2 collabo in the Bronx, an oversized wheatpaste piece just popped up in SoHo, based on this Martha Cooper photograph of impoverished youth. There’s also this freshly wallpapered room at the Music Hall of Williamsburg and an OBEY pop up store. Then there’s an 80 foot tall wheatpaste going up around the Ace Hotel. Those who book the hotel for May 1st (145-645 USD) get a special package: an OBEY shirt, signed something and two tickets to the MAY DAY after-party. Because nothing makes a sexy party like a herd of gawking tourists.
Image: amolho4
Rochester’s The Sweetmeat Co. created an art piece depicting female graffiti pioneer LADY PINK as a saint that was based in part on a NYC subway photo taken by Martha Cooper back in 1982. And while she normally doesn’t like when people use her work without her permission, in this case, is more than willing to absolve the artists of her wrath. Compare with the original photograph below. Read more »
Unlike Krink’s limited edition fire extinguisher full of paint, this Fumakaka’s high-pressure means of “creative expression” won’t cost much of anything. Photographer Martha Cooper returns from Bogota where the Peruvian graffiti crew was offering a “master class” and open source illustrated plans for building the Sembrador de Terror aka the Terror Planter. Constructed with common materials, the pressurized tagging tube is easily refillable for “super tags in half the time.” |12oz|
Photos by Martha Cooper
Following an unsuccessful photo hunt for graffiti and street art in the Live Free or Die state, Martha Cooper wonders whether tough laws and non-serious vandals might be to blame. Though possible, it seems more likely that dearth of urban art forms has more to do with the rural state having a Manhattan-sized population sparsely spread across a wilderness landscape that’s 30 times bigger. |12oz|
Two-wheeling sculptors, photo-shooting messengers, and velocentric painters are among the many bicycle inspired artists converging in downtown Manhattan for the Joyride art show tonight. The exhibition, part of the Bicycle Film Festival, takes place across multiple venues between Houston and Broome Street, a move that festival founder Brendt Barbur hopes will lead people to literally joyride among the various installations, performances, and parties in the neighborhood. ANIMAL got a sneak peek of the show while it was still under construction, so preview the work after the jump before you go see it tonight. Read more »
Parting Shot: Getting Bombed
Taking a nostalgia trip to the high school alma mater that expelled him, graffiti artist RIME points out the multitude of influential graffiti writers who attended the High School of Art & Design: TAKI 183, SEEN TC5, LEE, DAZE, LADY PINK, MARE 139, and REAS among others. The above photo, shot by Martha Cooper for Hip Hop Files, shows some “spray cans and underage drinking on school grounds” during a graffiti art show. |Jersey Joe Art|
Photographer Martha Cooper caught some shots of Italian artist Paolo Buggiani riding his burning bicycle on the streets of Soho earlier this month. The fiery performance was part of “NY Street Art: Masters of the early 80′s,” a show that wrapped up last week at Space 45 and featured work by Linus Corraggio, Keith Haring and Ken Hiratsuka. |12oz|
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