Autoterrorist » graffiti

April 24, 2009

TAG au Grand Palais

At one of the most prestigious national institutions in Paris the post-graffiti collection of architect and lover of “l’art sauvage” Alain-Dominique Gallizia is on view in a newly restored hall. We visited TAG au Grand Palais to check it out.

150 international graffiti writers and artists are part of Gallizia’s collection, which he started in 2006. As an architect he realized that with graffiti, the architects were no longer the only “artistes de la rue.” He began to invite graffiti writers into his studio to paint canvases for him, as he felt the need to preserve the beauty of graffiti art from its ephemeral fate on the street. Friends with Henry Chalfant, he was introduced to all the greats, from graffiti’s early- and heydays to contemporary kings from the US to France to Brazil.

Chalfant wrote the introduction to the exhibition, calling it “a historical document of the cultural movement that has arisen out of graffiti” and a “panorama of this international art movement.” But what we really encounter in the exhibition is not so much an historical document but a who’s who of graff from the pioneers onward.

Gallizia commissioned the artists to paint for him, but had “chosen to provide a conceptual framework within which the works [were] to be created”, imposing a format within which the artists had to work. Each work is the same size, made of two panels, the left panel devoted to the “TAG”, and the right panel the artist’s interpretation of “LOVE”.

Far from being limiting, this narrow theme and restricted, uniform format ordered the exhibition and downplayed elements of graffiti such as its competitive aspects, its varying forms, its role in the urban environment—instead we were left with 150 intimate portraits of the artists themselves. The abstraction of LOVE brings about highly personal interpretations and it was truly fascinating to see how the artists reacted to it.

The exhibition is organized chronologically to appeal to our sense history and forbears in graffiti, starting with Cornbread on top—”I LOVE Philly” of course, and Taki 183 (who makes no distinction between the TAG and the LOVE panels..), StayHigh 149 and Coco 144:

To be honest, I wasn’t really expecting to like this exhibition too much, not being a big fan of post-graffiti, but I had a great time looking at all of these panels and constantly being surprised, from the early graffiti writers like LadyPink, Mare 139, Rammellzee, Toxic, SEEN;

and current favorites like Doze Green, AMAZE, NUNCA, CLAW, Miss17, BO130, Microbo, Mike Giant;

French writers like L’Atlas, JACE and PSYCKOSE;

as well as getting introduced to writers I wasn’t familiar with, like ISBA (from Iran), Fridriks (from Iceland) and ZEDZ (from Holland):

For a complete set of my photos visit my Flickr set, and if you’d like to see incredible installation views and shots of every panel go to Edwin Bartlett’s Flickr set.

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April 7, 2009

Berlin is crushed…

Full set on Flickr.

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graffiti

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December 8, 2008

Pop_down project

From the Pop Down Project:

DEPOLLUTION VISUELLE

Sur Internet, il est relativement facile de réduire le nombre de Pop-Up qui s’affichent sur nos écrans. Dans la réalité, c’est autrement plus compliqué.
Le Projet Pop_Down propose donc à chacun de rétablir symboliquement cette liberté de non-exposition en collant des boutons “Fermer la fenêtre” sur toute pollution de l’espace public.

CLOSING THE WINDOW ON REAL LIFE POP-UPS

On the Internet, getting rid of unsollicited pop-ups is pretty easy. In real life, things are a tad more complicated.
The Pop_Down Project aims at symbolically restoring everyone’s right to non-exposure: Just stick a “Close window” button on any public space pollution.
Pop_Down. It’s up to you!

We’re down with the Pop_down Project.

You can download the images and create your own stickers.

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November 23, 2008

On the Canal de l’Ourcq

Near the periphery of Paris in the 19th on either side of the Canal de l’Ourcq is the Parc de la Villette, as designed in 1982 by deconstructrivist architect Bernard Tschumi. The park was built over the former grounds of the old slaughterhouses and meat district, and now is the second largest greenspace in Paris proper. With an elevated walkway next to and over the canal, a giant geodesic dome and multiple seemingly purposeless structures and sculptures, the Parc de la Villette is an example of a park of follies—a folly being a building that has no purpose other than decoration.

Parc de la Villette has 35 follies to explore. It might just awaken in you your inner homo ludens. Consider that Tschumi’s contemporaries and influences were Roland Barthes, Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida and the Situationist International; that “there is no space without event”.

From the Parc de la Villette, the Canal de l’Ourcq ejects you from Paris’ 19th arrondissement on a bike path through the banlieues, past warehouses and industrial parks—follies of abandon, decorated now with the expressions of graffiti art.

As one continues on along the concrete embankments of the Canal de l’Ourcq is one of the longest, most impressive graffiti galleries I’ve encountered yet in France.

More Paris graffiti here.

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March 14, 2008

The bunkers

Out in the Marin Headlands are quite a few relics from WWII, bunkers and batteries, left over from the anticipation of a Japanese attack on the West Coast.

These austere structures now attract graffiti from SF writers—not quite Country Graffiti, but more graffiti from kids who don’t usually write it.

The bunkers are extensive in some spots, and really dark.

Ain’t that the truth.

Up the hill from the bunkers (sorry I’m going backwards..) are these dilapidated stations of some sort, with the stairs long crumbled and gone. It’s fun scrambling around, but I almost missed this sweet little sea scape painted over the buff. By the way, it seems like they only bother to buff the outside of these concrete spots.

Nice view too…

All in all, a pretty awesome place to get stationed for WWII! If you do check out these spots, ride your bike. It’s a great ride and not too hard, plus you get to bomb the heart-dropping one-way downhill down to the lighthouse.

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September 28, 2007

Country graffiti

On a recent trip out to Reno, we stopped by Donner Lake looking for the plaque that marks the spot where the Donner Party was stranded and ate each other. We didn’t find the plaque but spent a lot of time checking out the graffiti on the walls of the abandoned railroad snowsheds in the Sierras up through Donner summit.

Graffiti found in rural areas is often amateurish and crude, like Soul Bro up here. These old snowsheds for the railroad extend miles, so there is plenty of space and plenty of solitude for writing graffiti, so there is hardly any demand for space and pieces like Soul Bro can last for years. Despite this, we did find evidence of some beef up there in the country, which seems pretty ridiculous.

The best pieces were found closer to the road by some crews from the Lake Tahoe area. This one is found on the so-called “Chinese” wall, as these snowsheds and railroads were all built by Chinese laborers in the 1860’s.

There’s a great map located here, with some local history of the railroads and some photos of the area which carefully omit any trace of the graffiti (of course). There’s some great hikes up there too, if you’re interested in visiting. Just get off on Donner Pass road from the 80 and when you hit the lake head right, up to the summit instead of toward the lake. Turn onto Lake Mary road and then you should be able to find the tunnels on foot. Keep an eye out for the Ski Ranch, if you pass it you’ve gone too far. You can see the snowsheds from the road; they stretch for miles. Map.
(Click on this picture to see the note that points out the snowsheds. It’s kind of hard to see)

We did see some groups of locals (mostly teenagers) driving around through the tunnels though, so be aware of that.

My photos are on a set on Flickr here. Here are some more of my fave finds out there:

And of course, this one, entitled, “out of the darkness…poop and fart.”

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August 26, 2007

New gallery in Shibuya

Just read an interview on Pingmag about a new art gallery, Gallery Scene, in Shibuya which is focused on street art. It grew out of a non-profit called Komposition, and one of their projects created several legal walls for Japanese graffiti artists like this one by PHIL and FATE of SCA Crew.

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graffiti

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Haunted house

haunted house on Oak Street in San Francisco. Dracula lives here!

Originally uploaded by nattynattyboom

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graffiti

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August 14, 2007

RIP Warm Water Cove

What was this:

Has been reduced to this:

I wish I had known about the “community” action that buffed all of Warm Water Cove park and been there to protest. Of course it wasn’t really mentioned at all except for a call for volunteers on the SF connect website. The action was entitled “Reclaim Warm Water Cove Park.” Reclaim it from whom, for whom? For the new neighbors in their high-rise luxury condos? SF is in a pretty sad state.

And as far as picking weeds goes, the volunteers basically cleaned out the entire park of any existing greenery, including bushes. What did they put in its place? WOODCHIPS. Great. It’s so inviting now, with no art, no bushes or grass, only a dark green wall with razorwire and intimidating signs stating the penal code and “DO NOT DEFACE”. Now its a family park.

What I don’t understand is how the company who owns the fence, and partially supported the whitewashing, only paints over the side of the fence facing the park. According to the city’s taken-for-scripture “broken-windows theory“, doesn’t this still promote a “lawless atmosphere” and constitute urban blight?

Mark O’Hanlon, a “25+ year Dogpatch resident,” reminds us that before there was the graffiti art,

Warm Water Cove used to be a very dangerous gangs and guns area before the artists ( and mobile homeless)took over.

Doesn’t a public park belong to all of the community? Unfortunately the city only wants to acknowledge certain constituents as being part of the “community” and the graffiti writers who painted at the cove as well as the homeless who slept in the bushes (or the “weeds” that had to be pulled) are not recognized as members of said “community.”

Gavin Newsom apparently had some lipservice to pay, claiming he’ll

“invest in programs that promote appropriate places for graffiti,’’ which might include a public wall in Warm Water Cove Park… (from SFgate)

Appropriate places for graffiti? Then it isn’t graffiti anymore! They already had a public wall at Warm Water Cove Park.. What are they going to do, put a new concrete wall up and have a “community” curation team that will decide who paints what where? Why does all art have to be bureaucratized? If urban blight is what they are trying to cure, then get the industries to clean up their act and their properties. Of course the only thing they can think of to do is “clean up” that little park even though it is surrounded by deteriorating industrial warehouses. It would take a lot more than that to make the area palatable to the yuppie tastes. But I’m pretty sure what will happen soon enough is those industries, who aren’t pulling in as much revenue as their land is worth, will soon be torn down to make way for… wait for it…. MORE LUXURY CONDOS! Because that’s what San Francisco is all about. Makin’ money.

One of the wonderful things about graffiti though, is its perseverance. Those walls won’t stay drab for long. The city will get tired of patrolling that park anyway, like it always has. I highly doubt it will suddenly undergo a drastic change into a super friendly “family” park, with all the amenities of a park bench and a picnic table. Access to the waterfront consists of a pile of concrete rubble falling into the bay. Is that a place where anyone would want their toddler to play? Despite that, according to the “community” the only dangerous aspect of the park was the garbage and the paint on its walls.

That park was a site of cultural production, a disused, in-between space made relevant by the actions of artists. It was a destination for graffiti writers and those who appreciate that form of art, as well as those who can see the aesthetic in that which is cast aside, rusted over and deteriorated.

Must this city only be subjected to the aesthetic ideals of the propertied classes and boring, shallow pedants? In public space, apparently only some views are accepted.

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July 31, 2007

If you are in NYC, be advised…

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April 24, 2009

April 7, 2009

December 8, 2008

November 23, 2008

March 14, 2008

September 28, 2007

August 26, 2007

August 14, 2007

July 31, 2007

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