Filed under: Graffiti, Inspiration, Photography, Uncategorized | Tags: Atlanta, Bombing, Boston, Chicago, D-30, Detroit, Fill-ins, Graffiti, Houston, Los Angeles, MSK, NEKST, New York, New York City, NYC, Philadelphia, R.I.P., Rest In Peace, Saint Louis, San Francisco, St. Louis, Subways, Trains
The graffiiti world lost another one yesterday with the early passing of Houston CA NYC, nationwide crusher “NEKST”…
NEKST – Spring and Bowery (NYC)
“MSK” by NEKST, seen from the Williamsburg Bridge
“NEKST” Houston St. (NYC)*
“NEKST” Houston St. (NYC)**
“NEKST” (S.F.) **
“NEKST” (the Bronx, NYC) **
“NEKST” MBTA Red Line (Boston) **
* stolen pic from theKeeganGibbs.com
** stolen pic from ?
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: 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. Continue reading
Filed under: Graffiti, Politics, Ramblings | Tags: A.W.R, Art in The Streets, AWR, Ayer, Deitch, Fuck Authority, Fuck You, Graffiti, LAPD, Los Angeles, M.S.K., MOCA, MSK, Museum of Contemporary Art, Police State, Ramblings, Revok, The Seventh Letter
“Revok”
$320,000 Bail for Graffiti? Is that a misprint? ..Nope, it’s true.. just double checked. They grabbed up REVOK at LAX boarding a flight to Ireland on Sunday. A real FBI style (and QUITE costly) takedown.
from the LA Times:
“Revok, one of Los Angeles’ best known graffiti writers, was arrested as he prepared to board a plane to Ireland at Los Angeles International Airport, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reported.
Jason Williams, a.k.a. Revok, was taken into custody Thursday for an outstanding arrest warrant for failing to pay restitution, according to sheriff’s Capt. Mike Parker.
Authorities claim Revok is a member of the graffiti crew Mad Society Kings, or MSK. Officials from the sheriff’s department were notified that there was an outstanding warrant against Revok for failure to repay victims of previous vandalism incidents.
That led to his arrest, officials said.
Revok is being held in the Los Angeles County Jail in lieu of $320,000 bail.
— Richard Winton”
Here’s some other bails set IN the past 2 months, and also IN Los Angeles County (taken from Logan Hicks)…
San Gabriel Valley man arrested for allegedly molesting teenage boy he met online. Bail… $25,000
OC hospital worker is charged with raping sedated patient. Bail… $100,000
Man pleads not guilty to offering ‘dead or alive’ bounty on daughter’s boyfriend. Bail… $250,000
(more here)
and now……
“Artist charged with not repaying (in full) restitution for victims of graffiti.”… Bail… $320,000.
DAMN! Almost 1/3 of a MILLION $s bail for failure to repay “victims” of graffiti? “Victims”? Aren’t the “victims” of this graffiti the walls that had their COLOR CHANGED? Along with being an obvious counter strike against the rising graffiti art world and MOCA’s “Art in the Streets” exhibit, I’m sure Revok’s blog posts on the police don’t help. (MUST READS, if you can stomach them).
Revok’s very honorable dedication to AYER (R.I.P.) in the MOCA show
FREE REVOK.
*** UPDATE: Revok Gets Sentenced 180 Days (from the LA Times)…
Filed under: Art, Graffiti, Politics, Ramblings | Tags: Fine Art, Graffiti, L.A., Los Angeles, M.T.A., Politics, RTH, Smear
From the LA Times (thanks MAC)…
“Graffiti Artist’s Past is Tagging Behind Him
Cristian Gheorghiu scrawled ragged images and his nickname, ‘Smear,’ on L.A.’s lampposts, walls and riverbeds. Now that his gallery career is taking off, an injunction is threatening to bar him from profiting from art bearing his telltale ‘tag.’
In 2007, Gheorghiu’s problems came to a head with his first adult felony arrest. Responding to Smear’s graffiti on buses, L.A. County sheriff’s deputies raided his home. A graffiti vandalism conviction resulted in a 40-month suspended prison sentence, three years’ probation and about $28,000 in restitution for scrawling on buses.
Gheorghiu remains on probation because he has paid off only about $5,000 of his fines.
He says he stopped vandalizing property after his conviction. Today, he insists, his only artwork is created in a studio, with larger pieces fetching $2,000 to $2,500. Art “is my way of making amends,” he said.
But his trouble with the law didn’t end. When his old tagging crew was suspected of creating a quarter-mile-long MTA tag in the Los Angeles River, Gheorghiu was caught in the ensuing police sweep.
He spent three days in jail in 2009. Charges were never filed.
But in 2010, the city attorney sued him and nine others. The suit seeks at least $1 million in penalties and a civil injunction that would forbid many activities, including making money from work emblazoned with their street names.”
Read the whole story here.
“SMEAR”
photo: LA Times
Hmmm… tags no longer allowed in fine art? Wow. That’s pretty fucked up. What about signed pieces by other graffiti and street artists? Are those just criminal evidence now?
If you read a little further the real motive against graffiti/ graffiti art reveals itself (again)..
“Their suit also argues that Gheorghiu’s graffiti served as free publicity, giving him an unfair advantage over legitimate artists — a violation of state laws governing fair competition.”
…..Exactly. All about the $$$$s.
Filed under: Graffiti | Tags: A.W.R, AWR, Biggest Waste Of Money, Buffed Graffiti, Graffiti, History, L.A. River, LA River, Los Angeles, Los Angeles River, M.S.K., M.T.A., MSK, National Security, Saber, US Army Corps of Engineers, Your taxes going towards more stupid shit
So last spring I started a what I thought was going to be a 150′ fill-in on the Los Angeles River (Frogtown section). The first night, I rolled out 3 gallons of black/brown which only got a skinny outline done. It was more like the sketch so I’d know where to start filling in the next night. Well I couldn’t get back for the second session for a few days, but I figured “no biggie”; this was gonna be a big project and gonna take many nights. So I stroll up there a few nights later to start the filling in, and um…. I could swear I started it earlier that week. …Where was it?!! …Buffed?! What?! But the Saber piece was running for years. The MTA piece was just done. WTF?! Why me?!!! Little did I know, this was the beginning of something big. Or should I say the REMOVAL of some things big…
Turns out that even with these crazy economical times, they’ve come up with $837,000 to start to buff the Los Angeles River. Now if you don’t already know, the L.A. River is not exactly a beautiful “river”, but actually a literal drainage ditch with 60′ cement banks running through industrial and unvisited parts of Los Angeles. One of the only things the river has offered has been the enormous canvases for some of the largest murals on the planet.
the “SABER” piece. 60′ x 250′, 1997
(check out Saber himself siiting in the upper left part of the “B”)
“SABER” buffed September 2009 (above 4 photos: Known Gallery)
Then, last week, they had the US Army Corps of Engineers buff the MTA piece. Yup, the Army is now working to buff graffiti. Must be a national security issue. Gotta get the army to fight art done without permission. In related news, they’ve arrested 10 of the alleged MTA crew, and are charging them for the graffiti. They claim it took them 400 gallons of paint and 4 nights to do it. They also might be seeking to charge the crew the clean-up cost of $3.7 MILLION to buff it ($38 a square ft). What The Fuck?! Sounds like the Army Corp are the ones cleaning up. I’ll do that shit for $1 million. Fuck.. even $100,000.
“MTA” Piece, L.A. River, 60′ x 1700′, 2008
(above 3 photos: LaTaco.com )
“M” of the “MTA” buffed (photo: fotograffia.com)
MTA piece buffed, 10-11-2009 (photo: jondoeforty1)
Filed under: Art | Tags: 156, Alone, Alone One, Alone1, Brooklyn, Free Drawing Paper, Graffiti, KBT, Kyota Grand, Kyota Grand Hotel and Gardens, Los Angeles, Net, NYC, Outline, PI, X-MEN
A “Net” outline I did for my man “NET” (PI. KRT. 156. X-MEN) when we were chillin in his telly last year in LA.
Filed under: Art, Art Show | Tags: Ahnna Jade, Alone, Alone One, Alone1, Andreina Davila, Anna Impullitti, Anthony Ausgang, Art, Art Show, Benefit, Big Toe, C. De La Luz Medrano, Christina Christos, David Stoupakis, Demar Douglas, Dereck Cruz, Diabetes, Frank Ippolito, Gregory P. Rodriguez, Heather Ritts, Joshua Ellingson, Julie B, KRK Ryden, Light Gallery, Los Angeles, Marcos Miguel Sanchez, Marcus Parrish, Mark George, Paul Torres, Robert Holton, Rony Alwin, Ryan Boyle, Sean Brannan, Shepard Fairey, Sheppard Fairey, Tara Parrish, the Molten Brothers, Thomas J. Novy, Type 1, Type 1 Diabetes, Type One, Type One Diabetes, Vincent Burkhead, Zoey Stevens
My piece for the “Pre-Existing Condition” art show this Friday March 20th in Los Angeles..
“Type 1″
acrylic on cradled masonite
12″ x 16”
2009
The character was inspired by my good friend Rich Morrison (Rest in Peace) who passed away from Type 1 Diabetes before reaching 30 years old. The finger detail is inspired by Zoey Steven’s piece for the show.
The group art exhibition will be hosted by Type One Clothing and the Light Gallery from 6 to 11 p.m, March 20th 2009. This show is an artists perspective of the disease known as Type One Diabetes. All of the artists are effected by Diabetes in one way or another. The connection to diabetes may be family, a friend or the artist themselves. The point of the show is to raise awareness about the disease and raise money for research to hopefully one day destroy Type One Diabetes. Proceeds from sales will be donated to the JDRF. Host bar by JLP The Presidents Tequila.
The Light Gallery is located at: 440 e. 17th st. Costa Mesa, CA 92627
PARTICIPATING ARTISTS:
Demar Douglas
Sean Brannan
Ryan Boyle
Big Toe
Vincent Burkhead
Thomas J. Novy
Christina Christos
David Stoupakis
Anna Impullitti
Anthony Ausgang
Andreina Davila
ALONE ONE
C. De La Luz Medrano
Mark George
Marcos Miguel Sanchez
the Molten Brothers
Ahnna Jade
Marcus Parrish
KRK Ryden
Frank Ippolito
Paul Torres
Tara Parrish
Rony Alwin
Julie B
Heather Ritts
Dereck Cruz
Gregory P. Rodriguez
Shepard Fairey
Robert Holton
Joshua Ellingson
Zoey Stevens
If you are in the Los Angeles area please come through and show your support.
Filed under: Photography | Tags: 2008, Adze, Alone, Alone One, Alone1, Art of Graffiti Removal, Bay Area, Bay Bridge, Blogs, Boston, Boxtruck, Bronx, Brooklyn, Buffed Graffiti, Caype, Celtics, Celtics Dancers, Cholo, Divorce, Dumpling House, East Coast, Echo Park, Ellis G., Ellis Gallagher, Fire Escapes, FTW, Gas, Graffiti, Hew Burney, Jesus Saves, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Lost, Lower East Side, M.T.A., Minivan, Nevada, New Years, New York, Noxer, NY, NYC, Obama, OD, Odee, r32, r33, r34, Red Wings, Redbird, Redbirds, San Francisco, Second St, Second St Tunnel, Slay, Subway, Taco Tuesday, Tacos Mexico, Travel, Union Pool, UW, Vault, Water Towers, West Coast, Williamsburg
2008 was a crazy year for me. The “divorce” was finally over and no more mortgage. I was set free in a lot of ways. Here’s some pics from the last year that never made the blog..
I drove (..yeah crazy already) about 15,000 miles in a year.
..even in a minivan, I can’t drive 55. Topped out at 117, shaking ALOT.
Spent alot of time in Los Angeles. Things are just different there.
LA doesn’t have so many Dunkin’ Donuts.
Galo and Size. Don’t know who did the cholo characters, but they are so LA and really dope.
FTW. These dudes were up in Echo Park.
Dope SLAY sticker. This dude was up, creepin tags in weird not-so-quick-to-buff spots.
“ADZE ” also had his ups.
Ellis G came through for a West Coast visit.
The Bay Area became my new second home.
Hew Burney came through with the pics when in Vegas..
Taco Tuesday dictated the schedule in ’08.
OD crew wasn’t being pushed anymore, partly due to a “bad apple” bumming out everyone. Something had to give, and it was either retire the crew or clean it up and move on. Bad apple removed.. new apples added.
Welcome to the family Caype OD.
Getting bored, and with the recomendation/encouragement from some friends, I started this blog.
Gas prices got out of control (I had to spend $5.15 a gallon once in Hollywood), leading me to drive less and steal more (gas). Which made LA suck even more.
..so even with all the beautiful weather and women, LA just wasn’t for me.
I was out.
East Coast <3 .
and oh yeah, huge political news.. Obama pulled it off.
Happy New Years!
Filed under: Art, Inspiration, Photography | Tags: Andy Warhol, Anonymous Gallery, Brooklyn, Ellis G., Ellis Gallagher, Greg Lamarche, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Los Angeles, New York, NY, NYC, Silver lake, Street Art, Todd James
My man Ellis G in Brooklyn last night.
Los Angeles, spring 2008
Silver Lake, 2008
Check out his work along with art legends Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and others at the Anonymous Gallery’s show, “The Piece Process”..
Opening reception: TONIGHT, December 17, 2008. 7-10pm
Show runs: December 17, 2008 – January 24, 2009
Anonymous Gallery
329 Broome St (Lower Level)
New York, NY 10002
Filed under: Art | Tags: Alone, Alone One, Alone1, Art, Drawings, Echo Park, Free Drawing Paper, Graffiti, Los Angeles, Mixed Media, Silver lake, Vegan House
“Remember The Times (Vegan House/ L.A.)”
pen on Vegan House menu
Filed under: Ramblings, Travel | Tags: -Fuck, Cars, Driving, Fuck You, Gas, Los Angeles, Mr. Brainwash, Obey, Ramblings, Shepard Fairey, Sheppard Fairey, Sun, Sunsets, Travel, Weather
I’ve had enough of L.A.. Time to be out.
Shit is mad fake. The L.A. river is a fake river. Silver Lake is a fake lake. The plastic surgery. The girls. So many of the people. The wack LA hipsters and the corny Hollywack scene. I’d rather just read The Arab Parrot, and look at his pic of all the clowns I missed from the night before. And even he did the right thing and flew the coop a few weeks back. Good move.
Sick of the L.A. art scene. Sick of Shepard Fairey and his Fuct-up plagiaristic art. Sick of Mr. Brainwash and his mockery of the art world (first art show grossing over 1/2 million$!). If that’s what it takes to make it, I’m all set.
Sick of cars and driving. The city is designed wrong and public transportation here is so useless, that you really have to drive. Driving everywhere. Tickets. Tickets, and more tickets. Car towings. Random car repair bills. Traffic here can make a 15 minute drive turn into 2 hours. Cars are wack. And the gas prices (insane skyrocketing from $3 to $5.15 in the spring)! Fuckin gas. Aren’t people dying over this shit?!
Sick of the segregation. It’s ridiculous. All of the black people are in South Central, Compton or Watts unless they are even less fortunate than that and are on Skid Row. Mexicans live in central (excluding Skid Row) and East LA. Asians live in their retrospective neighborhoods (Chinatown, Koreatown, Little Tokyo). The white people live on the West Side (Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Los Feliz, Silver Lake), on the top of all the hills, and anywhere near the ocean. There’s not much interaction between races here. No getting on the subway and seeing 12 ethnicities and hearing 6 languages being spoken on the same train. Most of the conversations between races here are actually people yelling at each other while driving. Maybe I’m weird, but I like diversity.
The economy in LA is severely unbalanced. There’s alot of money here, but it doesn’t seem to get around very well. No wonder there’s been some frustration here before (and before that). It seems that you are not making $30+ an hour, you are basically a “Mexican” (meaning everyone else) getting minimum wage. That is, IF you can get work.
Sick of jobs falling through, people wanting art but then “We really want your art, but we don’t quite have the budget. But if you wanna do it for free, it would surely help your portfolio”. ..Um yeah.. charity usually involves helping someone that needs it, not helping your store look better so you can sell more cupcakes. I have to eat. So if I work for you, then “Fuck you. Pay me.” If I just wanted to paint a wall.. I can find walls to paint.
Sick of the best time to get something done out here always being “tomorrow”. Let’s just get shit done!
Sick of the weather. “But it’s ‘perfect'”. Bullshit. It’s the same everyday, and it is borrrring. I can get into a cloudy day, fall foliage, painting in the snow, spring rain and rebirth. Bad weather makes me appreciate the “nicer days”. Sick of the sun. The sun is over-rated, and causes skin cancer, heat stroke, squinting, and exhaustion. Sunsets are ok.. because it’s leaving. Like me.
(*All this ranting aside, thanks and big ups to my all my friends still in Los Angeles. Now I just gotta get y’all out!)
Filed under: Photography, Travel | Tags: Burrito King, Cadillacs, Dodgers, Echo Park, Hot, Hydraulics, LA River, Los Angeles, Medical Marijuana, Palm Trees, Photography, Photos, Shrimp Tacos, Tacos, Watts Towers
Some random pics from this year in Los Angeles..
Los Angeles Skyline from Runyun Canyon (with of course some smog)
California Dream and Mexican Coca-Cola
L.A.!
Serious Dodgers fans
Fruit Truck
Medical Marijuana/ Silver Haze
Little Tim in Echo Park
Astroburger – great burgers and a pretty good vegetarian selection on the menu
LA loves the old Cadillacs. Baby blue with hydraulics.
Another old Cali Cadey in flat black.
22’s
Beef and shrimp tacos from..
Burrito King, Echo Park
109′ at sunset
Walking the “banks” of the L.A. River
Sunset over Hollywood Blvd.
Filed under: Art | Tags: 101, Alone, Alone One, Alone1, Art, Drawings, Echo Park, Free Drawing Paper, Fuck You, Hand Drawn Map, Hollywood, Los Angeles, Parking Ticket, Silver lake
“Wherever You Go – There you Are”
pen, marker, and collaged letters on a parking ticket envelope
2008
Filed under: Travel | Tags: 2Pac, Brass Knuckles, Counterfit, Fashion District, Illegal Pet Trade, Los Angeles, New-Era, Shopping, Switchblades, TuPac, TuPac Lives, Weapons
The Fashion District in Los Angeles is located downtown on the 90 blocks between 7th, Spring, and San Pedro streets and the Santa Monica Freeway. Besides being the place for ridiculously cheap “fashion”, it is also the place to buy all sorts of shady stuff. It’s like the real “Black Market” that I thought was an actual place when I was like 8..
Fake Croks.. $30, but they’ll take $20.
Counterfeit New-Era hats.. 3/$10
Shopping for weapons. 2 Shilaka/beatdown sticks, brass knuckles, and a switchblade.. $43.
What?!
“You’re not a cop right?”
Holster Belt Buckle
Baby pets for sale. Turtles, chicks, parakeets, little bunnies, and lizards.
TuPac is still alive down here.
Not pictured.. besides the typical bootleg dvds, there’s fake Nikes, knock-off “designer” pocketbooks, Lucha libre masks, and L.A.’s street meat.. bacon wrapped hotdogs.
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