Filed under: Graffiti, Photography | Tags: Bloods, Brooklyn, Crips, Gang Graffiti, Gangs, Graffiti, New York, New York City, NYC
After aborting my Los Angeles relocation a few years ago, I thought along with the gang driven drive-by shootings and talk of “colors”, I’d also be leaving the accompanying graffiti. Well, maybe not so quick. Seems that New York has been getting its fair share of gang turf wars as evident on the streets of Brooklyn…
Filed under: Art, Photography, Politics, Ramblings | Tags: -Fuck, Alone, Alone One, Alone1, AloneOne, Art, Free Drawing Paper
…more free drawing paper.
Filed under: Uncategorized
Oh yeah.. some preview pics from the “LOCKED” zine…
CAYPE
SMEAR
KURSE
GRINS
POSTERBOY
ALONE
There’s still some copies left. Grab one here.
Filed under: Art | Tags: 2011, Alone, Alone1, AloneOne, Art, Artwork, Drawings
“Everything but …the Girl.”
pen on free paper
2011
Filed under: Inspiration, Uncategorized | Tags: Graffiti, Harlan Ellison, Quotes, Writers
“Becoming a writer is easy. Staying a writer is hard” – Harlan Ellison
..funny how a lot of these quotes by different writers about writer’s can easily be read into by other writers.
Filed under: Graffiti, Inspiration | Tags: Boston, Graffiti, Inspiration, Jamaica Plain, Old-School, X-MEN
OK, first off I have to say this is barely an original post, all the pics are stolen off the internet along with the Dash history lesson, but the influence that Boston X-MEN had on my graffiti beginnings can’t be stated enough. Early to mid eighties, Boston’s elevated MBTA orange line was the center of graffiti. Looking out the windows at the cityscapes and the beautiful rooftop murals and signatures made a huge impression on me. When the el was taken down in 1989 focus turned to the streets. And from Egleston Square to Forest Hills up to Roslindale Square… it was all X-MEN…
a classic “X-MEN” blockbuster by MK. Not sure where this one was. There was one of these on a fire escape facing Egleston Sq in 89-90. It was a landmark spot. A very official “Welcome to Egleston: this is X-MEN territory!”
“SCENE” wasn’t X-MEN, but the “DASH” under SCENE’s “S” was. And this photo really brings back memories. After the orange line moved from it’s elevated Washington Street location to it’s present trench location, Amory and Lamartine streets became the new Washington Street in a way. This building was on Lamartine between Paul Gore and Wyman Streets. I would pass this on the regular going to see my first girlfriend on Sheridan St, so of course this time was quite impressionable. When this building was removed in the early 90′s for some new condos (a sign of times to come), it really was a nail in the coffin for an amazing era in Boston graffiti and my youth.
“MK” and “RICH3″ at the top of the bleachers at English High School, home to many a writer’s meatings. Probably 1990. Well visible from Washington Street and Williams Street when cutting over to Amory Street. Great Spot.
great hand styles by WISDOM (X-MEN TUF).
“ARCH” between Jackson Square and Roxbury Crossing, probably 1990.
“MKAY” (MK) at Jamaica Plain High School, before it changed to English High School in 1989. Another classic location.Here’s a quick history lesson taken from BostonGraffitiGhosts.com…
Filed under: Politics, Ramblings, YouTube | Tags: FIGHT BACK, police brutality
Pretty cool that we now have all these fancy video camera/cell phones to capture a fraction of the oppression served to us from our authorities. But what I like to see more than the video “evidence” is people just FIGHTING BACK…
Filed under: Art | Tags: 2011, 5AV, Alone, Alone One, Alone1, AloneOne, Caype, commissary, DFM, EOS, Freedom, Graffiti, graffiti art, Grins, Held Down, jail, jail art, KBN, Kurse, Locked, Locked zine, Lost, martyrs, MTS, OD, Okto, prison, prison art, Street Art, Zines
Featuring the art of graffiti and street artists while they are locked in the system from 1996–2011.
8.5″ x 5.5″
2o+ full color pages stapled with a thick cover.
Each issue is signed and numbered by Alone One in a limited edition of 100.
Contributing Artists:
Alone One
Caype
Grins
Kurse
Lost
Okto
PosterBoy
Smear
Grab a copy at one of these locations in Boston, NYC, or Los Angeles or directly online over at AloneArt.com…
Or get one here by making a $10 donation*. Free shipping (include your address in the Paypal comments/notes).
*All of the proceeds go directly to the contributing artists’ defense lawyers and commissaries. These crazy graffiti writers lifestyles require legal funds. So support the cause and get a great collection of art at the same time. Any size donations appreciated, larger donations get larger thank yous! So (speaking for all of us) thanks in advance for your support.
Filed under: Art, Graffiti, Inspiration, Photography, Ramblings | Tags: 2009, Aakash Nihalani, Bushwick, Graffiti, Graffiti vs. Street Art, New York, New York City, NYC, Photography, Poster Boy, Posterboy, Street Art, Streets
If street artists want to co-exist and be accepted by the graffiti world, there’s an old graffiti rule that they should understand. “DO NOT GO OVER OTHER PEOPLE.” ESPECIALLY if it’s bigger, better, or old. Sure those tags and those filled in “throw up” letters DO make a nice looking background to your street art. But that graffiti was there FIRST. It might not seem like much, but those letters were done on the spot with risk of arrest, possibly by someone from another city/country , a king, or even a RIPed writer’s last artifact. Undoubtedly potential historic pieces in the graffiti world. You CAN NOT go over them. Go BEHIND them? Hmm.. Maaaybe? ..If it’s done respectfully. This is a pic I took in Bushwick back in 2009..
Posterboy and Aakash Nihalani playin by the rules.
“Give respect, Get respect.”
Filed under: Art | Tags: 2011, Alone, Alone One, Alone1, AloneOne, Art, Fine Art, Oils, Paintings, Silver Lining
“Silver Lining”
oil on canvas
12″ x 36″ x 1 1/4″
Shown at HOURGLASS‘s art show “Royal Flush”…
…every cloud has one.
Filed under: Art Show | Tags: 2011, Alone, Alone One, Alone1, AloneOne, Andre Cheko, Art, Art Show, Art Shows, Boston, Cambridge, Coast, Graffiti, Helz, King Bee, KingBee, Mouse, OD, Tense, The Royal King Bee, The Royal KingBee, Tomb
“ROYAL FLUSH” Art Show
HOURGLASS Tattoo and Art Gallery
1680 Mass Ave (2nd floor)
Cambridge MA, 02138
OPENING:
August 20, 2011
8 – 12 pm
Art by:
ALONE
ANDRE CHEKO
COAST
HELZ
THE ROYAL KINGBEE
MOUSE
TENSE
TOMB
The show is up until late September.
Filed under: Art, Back In The Days, Books, Graffiti, Inspiration, Photography, Vintage Spraypaint | Tags: "History Of American Graffiti", 2011, 5AV, Albuquerque, Alert, Alone, Alone 1, Alone One, Alone1, AloneOne, American Graffiti, Atlanta, Baltimore, Bay Area, Blackbooks, Books, Boston, Caleb Neelon, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, East Chicago, Freight Train, Freight Trains, Future textbooks, Graffiti, Hawaii, History, History of Graffiti, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Minnesota, Nashville, New Jersey, New Orleans, New York City, NY, NYC, OD, Oregon, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Providence, Reviews, Roger Gastman, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Spraypaint, Tagbanging, Texas, Virginia, Washington D.C., Washington DC, Wisconsin
This book came out about a month ago. I meant to do a comprehensive review on it, but with about 400 PAGES a proper review would take months for me to write. And I don’t want to reveal too much of the book. Here’s a small preview…
First, the cover. Take off that paper one that it came with and reveal the (MUCH doper, in my opinion) vintage spraycans cover hiding under there.
Then get ready for a Graffiti History 101 on the history of over 25 cities. Just check out the Contents pages!..
Instead of starting with the expectected Cornbread and Taki 183 stories, it starts earlier with other forms of graffiti.
Of course any history book is bound to overemphasize certain people and events and omits others (REZENT! LOST!). However the Boston and New York sections are pretty accurate and no way as biased as it could have been. I’m not so knowledgeable on the other cities, but hopefully they are just as accurate.
In addition to the individual city chapters, there’s profiles on some very influential writers such as Cost, Revs, Twist, and others.
Then to top things off, they’ve even included info on spraypaint, blackbooks, tagbanging, freights, the list goes on..
I was very pleased to see the Boston chapter giving just credit to the X-men, Jayrock, Remote, and of course the much justified write up and photos of Alert (OD. KBN. 5AV) and Ryze (5AV KBN.) in the Boston chapter.
The OD crew gets their mention. I get a mention and some quote. And a photo (not one I would have chosen.. guess I should have submitted some of my own.) of an “AN” I did on the Porter MBTA tracks in 1993. Yup, the “Star Market wall”.
They also go on in the Denver section about Alert and Hel (OD KBN) relocating out there and hooking up with SWS.
Overall, this is a great book that will undoubtedly (like it or not) be used as THE first and foremost account of 20th century graffiti and will be studied for centuries to come. Grab a copy while you can still get an original first pressing.
*** Oh yeah, BIG THANKS to Caleb and Roger for hooking up me up with a copy of the book!!
Filed under: Inspiration, Uncategorized | Tags: Alone, Alone One, Alone1, AloneOne, Another way to waste time while at your boring job, Blogs, Tumblr
In an attempt to clean up my computer, I’ve decided to put the pictures that I steal off the internet back on the internet via… Tumblr. For me , I’ll get to have less clutter on my hard drive, and for you.. plenty of stolen-from-the-internet flicks to enjoy. Alot of them are where I get inspiration, some will make you laugh, some are just amazing images, and you will definitely love them all. Here’s a small sample…
Check out more on my TUMBLR.
Filed under: Art, Candy, Fashion | Tags: airbrushing, Bodypainting, Brooklyn, Coney Island, Coney Island Mermaid Parade, Forgot to mention.. of course we rode THE CYCLONE!, Mermaid Parade, Mermaids, NY, NYC, Why's my brother fighting the fire with NO PANTS ON?
The annual Mermaid Parade at Coney Island was last weekend. Beautiful day and I got to paint/airbrush some scales on a couple of beautiful mermaids…
Yes, I can airbrush. No, I will NOT do any t-shirts. But I will body paint for the right person, project (and ..price!). Now taking appointments for Halloween and the next Mermaid Parade or anything else fun.
So many cool costumes at the parade and throughout the day/night. Some people’s creativity was really impressive, girls were looking great as usual, and I got more than a chuckle at others. Here’s a glimpse… (more…)
Filed under: Graffiti, Politics | Tags: A.W.R, AWR, Graffiti, L.A., L.A. River, Los Angeles, Los Angeles River, M.S.K., MSK, Politics, Saber
Some well spoken words from SABER MSK…
THE DEVIL WEARS A PINK SUIT: A RESPONSE TO “RADICAL GRAFFITI CHIC”
.
Saber, “Sacred Trash” at MOCA’s “Art in the Streets” exhibition
After looking at the longest list of credentials of one person I’ve ever seen—Yale, University Of Cambridge, Stanford Law, Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, contributing editor of City Journal, recipient of 2005 Bradley Prize for Outstanding Intellectual Achievement, etc, etc—I came to the conclusion that approaching Heather Mac Donald’s fortified intellect would be the equivalent of challenging the IBM Chess Terminator: cold, calculating, and absent a pulse. I find it hard to believe that someone of such high stature would spend so much energy on something that seems trivial in comparison to her passion for deportation and torture. Yet she seems really upset at the idea of a museum honoring over forty years of development in Graffiti Art.
In her lengthy article “Radical Graffiti Chic,” she refers to artists as “vandal-anarchist wannabes” and attempts to highlight their hypocrisy. She names me personally in the article, stating that I am quick to sell out to any corporate sponsor: “Saber, who declares in an interview with the graffiti journal Arrested Motion that ‘there is no room for empathy when there is a motive for profit,’ has sold his designs to Levi’s, Hyundai, and Harley-Davidson.”
In trying to paint me as a hypocrite for capitalizing on my intellectual property, Heather does not take into account that I support my family through my art. I have painted everything from sets to faux finishing to gold leafing to put food on the table or to pay for health care bills, since insurance companies have refused to cover me due to a pre-existing condition (epilepsy). Heather, who is paid to write articles, should understand the process of making money for one’s creative output, and that this is not what I was referring to in the Arrested Motion quote. I was referring to health insurance companies taking away accessible facilities from sick people in order to save a buck at the expense of the patient’s life. To compare my art to the health insurance companies is ludicrous. (more…)
