I’ve known Mesh from the start of Handselecta. I think we met in 02. He was one of the first artists who saw the potential in a project like mine and put his work out there unconcerned of the who else was down. He has a continually experimental spirit toward his art, music and his drawing of letters. We had a great collaboration culminating in one of the fonts I’m most proud of from the project to date.

Handselecta: Thanks for doing this.
Mesh AOK: Yeah, man. sure thing.

HS: In these new pieces I really like seeing the rawness. The energy of the sketch lines, overlayed.  Are they studies for later pieces? Or are they finished like we’re seeing them?
MESH AOK: I do specifically indeed leave them uncolored, and also “un”-erased as it were, I think because, after having been involved with graffiti for so long and now grown older with it I have to ask myself the very fundamental question: Is graffiti a sophisticated art form?  Is it mature?  And the answer isn’t clearly yes in my opinion, I suppose, with what’s still presented today.  And yet it is exactly that kitschy, fun aspect of graffiti that is so essential and makes graffiti what it is.  So how to both keep that energy and lightness, as it were, while yet moving it forward in sophistication and seriousness, into a more a classical form, is what I suppose I find myself wanting to do.   

HS: When did you make the decision to go back a step and focus on the sketches, as opposed to fully rendered pieces?
MESH AOK: It’s really not a decision I made.  It’s a natural thing.  I’m someone who unfortunately has a problem pursuing anything, and I mean anything, that I find boring. And I just found some aspects of graffiti boring such that I could make myself do it, such as coloring in a piece or supposedly finishing it off to make it more concrete, that I just don’t strangely like to do anymore.  I don’t enjoy it.  It’s almost like obligatory work.  What’s weird is that color was always my specialty, and yet when you color something in it almost makes it sort of childish.  Unless, and here’s the catch, you’re going for that kitschy vintage value of early graffiti - and that has an essence of sophistication in it, I think, in that it’s referencing something.  But how much kitsch can you take, really? Without having to finally move on to something else and really get back to the “present,” and trying to move the form forward in some way.

HS: So this is a way of pushing the progression?
MESH AOK: Yeah. One way I think I do that is in the blurring of the rules between two and three dimensional object(s).  Most graffiti - again, this is unfortunate in my opinion - is something that could be made into a paperweight.  In other words it’s something that’s representing a strict and clear three-dimensional object, or maybe just a flat two-dimensional object, and therefore it’s a plain visual representation of something that could literally be physically made.  That is extremely boring to me, and literally childish, in my opinion and is exactly what leads me to doubt that this is at all a sophisticated art form.  So what I try to do in some of my pieces is blur that line between the second and third dimensions such that these pieces are not something that could be physically made.  I do this, I think, with the letters that seem to have a definite solidity to them whose lines then either evaporate, unclosed and unfinished, or overlap into the “dimensions,” as it were, of aspects of other letters, breaking their three-dimensional form that I still simultaneously, though, leave intact.  Sometimes these overlapping lines will make up part of the other letter.  In general creating impossibility in letters, much like an MC Esher drawing.  Well these are MC Mesher drawings - all the while keeping that raw and true energy of graffiti.   I say this in particular because I have gone very deep into these ideas in the past such that I’ve produced “pieces” that became so abstract that they don’t have that much “graffiti” in them, or not enough for what I’m currently going for, which is the “complete” aspect of graffiti in every one of these without exception. I hope you like them

HS: Thanks Mesh
MESH AOK: Peace

src=“http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/js/pap/embed.js?frol02n71cq101”>

On the American side of the issue, there were 2 really great must-listen episodes of This American Life, digging deeper into the background and hidden economics in the American System. More is Less about why prices keep rising in our system. And Someone Else’s Money which is an incredibly pro-free market argument for NPR.

My own preference is similar to the argument put forth by David Goldhill in Septembers issue of The Atlantic putting the impetus and empowerment on the individual for their own care, making Doctors and procedures costs transparent and insurance more toward catastrophic care as opposed to upkeep care not that dissimilar from auto insurance.

STATEMENT ON ASSOCIATED PRESS FAIR USE CASE
In an effort to keep everyone up to date on my legal battle to uphold the principle of fair use in copyright laws, I wanted to notify you of a recent development in my case against The Associated Press (AP).

On October 9, 2009, my lawyers sent a letter to the AP and to the photographer Mannie Garcia, through their lawyers, notifying them that I intend to amend my court pleadings. Throughout the case, there has been a question as to which Mannie Garcia photo I used as a reference to design the HOPE image. The AP claimed it was one photo, and I claimed it was another.

The new filings state for the record that the AP is correct about which photo I used as a reference and that I was mistaken. While I initially believed that the photo I referenced was a different one, I discovered early on in the case that I was wrong.

In an attempt to conceal my mistake I submitted false images and deleted other images. I sincerely apologize for my lapse in judgment and I take full responsibility for my actions which were mine alone. I am taking every step to correct the information and I regret I did not come forward sooner.

I am very sorry to have hurt and disappointed colleagues, friends, and family who have supported me in this difficult case and trying time in my life.

I am also sorry because my actions may distract from what should be the real focus of my case – the right to fair use so that all artists can create freely. Regardless of which of the two images was used, the fair use issue should be the same.

- Shepard

Entire Series can be seen here.

From Scott Lee’s Myspace Page:
Scott Lee Clothing’s Goals are as follows:
1. Make clothing with Scott’s name and face all over it.
2. Sell clothing with Scott’s name and face all over it.
3. Get people to wear clothing with Scott’s name and face all over it.
4. Use the profit money to make more clothing with Scott’s name and face all over it. (and destroy the rainforests)
5. Prove that anyone can screen print t-shirts and call it a clothing company.

Owner and Founder Scott Lee has the following to say to possible customers: “Please buy my clothing with my name and face all over it. (and destroy the rainforests)”

In a neighborhood called Colegiales, which is the beginning of the outskirts of Buenos Aires, lives
TEC, a street artist who paints expressive and minimalistic murals of fish and other animals and
hybrids of animals. TEC is a part of FASE, a street art collective who have an unignorable presence
in the local landscape.

I arrived by taxi to TEC’s apartment which is clearly distinguishable from a couple of
blocks away by its facade covered in a mural painted by a bunch of the members of FASE. TEC
greeted me at his front door and walked me through his apartment.

It’s a two story duplex that’s classical on the outside and modern on the inside. TEC lives there with his girlfriend, Victoria and
Rogelio, a happy black labrador retriever. His art which you see on just about every wall, brings
bright, primary colors to the neutral space. Even the refrigerator is covered in doodles, tags and
stickers.

In a cordial Argentinian manner, he invited me into the kitchen where we talked about his
artistic past, while he cooked a lunch of pasta with a beef sauce. TEC studied graphic design at the
University of Buenos Aires which led him to understand and appreciate the power of simple graph-
ic images.

While at university, he mentioned a trip that he took to Barcelona when he was nineteen.
This was in the early 90s when many European cities were screaming with graffiti. He was deeply
impressed by how graffiti wove itself so seamlessly into the city. He took pictures of much of the
Barcelona graffiti and brought it back with him to Buenos Aires. He shared the pictures with his
friends from college and soon after his return, they began their own assault on abandoned walls
and buildings commonly seen in Buenos Aires. At that point they were mostly tagging and piecing,
mimicking what TEC had seen in Barcelona.

Then came 2001.
Argentina’s economy imploded. Banks froze assets, unemployment rose to 20%, the presi-
dent, Fernando de la Rua, resigned, and desperate citizens resorted to rioting to manifest their an-
gers. Argentina was at one point, the tenth wealthiest country in the world, so this type of economic
collapse was especially unnerving to its citizens. One form of citizen rebellion came in the form of
graffiti. Not tagging, or piecing, but protest slogans. Slogans that said things like…”GOING BACK
TO THIS BANK MEANS GETTING RAPED AGAIN” and ”ARGENTINIAN BANKS ARE
THIEVES.” These graffiti slogans were on every corner in Buenos Aires and conveyed an aggres-
sion and overall negativity that was prevalent amongst the minds of many citizens. The crisis was
an economic apocalypse, with graffiti as the desperate voice of the public. Again, the members of
FASE decided to take to the streets and begin to counter these grey, pessimistic slogans with an
aesthetic optimism of cartoon-like characters in bright green and blue and yellow colors. These
playful images of extra terrestrial-like, one eyed smiley faces were a counter-punch to those grey
somber graffiti slogans. TEC told me that the public response to these murals was very positive.

The murals cut through the darkness of the times and encouraged a sense of relief amongst the
citizens. The 2001 crisis and the subsequent, positive public response to their work was deeply im-
pacting to the sensibilities of the FASE crew. It gave them a push of confidence to continue making
these bright and light-hearted images.

Eight years later, FASE has continued to use this approach of bringing brightness to envi-
ronments in other ways. Children especially love the surreal quality of their work and a couple of
years ago, FASE proposed to a children’s hospital that they paint its walls to brighten the spaces.
They then invited kids to help paint and the whole thing turned into a neighborhood event. The
painting of the hospitals proved a big hit. As any great artist knows, when you do something that
works, do it more. So they held more mural painting events and named them “Expression Ses-
sions,” which are community street art festivals that invite families and children to help paint
murals on walls of unclaimed spaces. FASE have held a number of these Expression Sessions with
hundreds of people from the community attending.

Using art as a means to improve the lives of the community has become a philosophy for
FASE. This is how the FASE collective distinguishes itself from the many other traditional graf-
fiti artists in the city. As TEC and I drove around the neighborhoods in and around Colegiales, our
conversation returned to the theme of traditional graffiti. TEC was torn about the idea of it. He un-
derstands that it’s his roots. With his trips to Europe, it influenced him to make the art in the street
that he makes today. But he seemed disillusioned by its redundancy. By developing art beyond the
limitations of graffiti, FASE could reach more people and more naturally use their work as a tool to
improve the quality of life of their neighborhoods. While mediocre graffiti covers the walls of the
streets in cookie-cutter pieces that speak only to other graf artists, FASE’s work does more. It en-
tices curiosities. It lets people discover their own imaginations. It facilitates community activities.
It encourages optimism. And it brings a smile to the face of a five year old who happens to walk by
one of their big bouncy characters.
For more on TEC, visit http://www.tecalbum.com/
For more on CHU (Another FASE artists), visit http://www.studiochu.tv/street-art.htm
For more on Argentina’s 2001 financial crisis, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentine_eco-
nomic_crisis_(1999-2002)

Always good stuff. Boogie is a Serbian born New York based documentary styled photographer, who has this amazing ability to find visions of the hardest and softest elements of life in the same photo. And in some of the gnarliest situations that most of us would only fantasize of actually wanting to be in. 

Apparently the kid was selling collaged posters and prints through 100artworks that incorporated images of Hirst’s work, which got the 16 year old slapped with a lawsuit. The kid retaliates with swiping a packet of pencils from Hirsts PHARMACY exhibit. Causing a blanketing of london with wnted posters for the missing pencils, apparently valued at £ 500,000.

From the Telegraph: “Cartrain then made a mock “wanted” posted that read: “For the safe return of Damien Hirst’s pencilers I would like my artworks back that DACS and Hirst took off me in November. It’s not a large demand… Hirst has until the end of this month to resolve this or on 31 of July the pencils will be sharpened. He has been warned.”
But the stunt backfired when the antiques squad from the Metropolitan Police arrested the artist, informing him the pencils were worth £500,000 as part of the overall installation which was valued at £10 million.
Cartrain is now on bail until September 11, and if convicted, the incident will be one of the highest value modern art thefts in Britain.”

So the moral of the story is that the “street-art” world of the 21st century isn’t any different than the first generations of graffiti, biting a masters style deliberately is grounds for beef. Beef can make you famous. But the beatdown is probably not going to outlast the fame. Careers seem to be based on it more and more these days. So, 16 year olds around the planet, steal as much as you want. Your snot nosed self righteous ways might just make you rich and famous. My motto is always to innovate don’t imitate. Pay respect to those you learn from. In this case. Cartrain might learn a bit about litigation I suppose.

http://www.independent.ie/world-news/europe/artist-17-arrested-for-hirst-pencil-theft-1878057.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/art-news/6135963/Teenage-artist-arrested-for-stealing-pencils-from-Damien-Hirst.html

The article speaks about Mongrams vs icons, which is an interesting tension. I do a lot of logos and fashion graphics. It speaks to his stature and hubris. Because it demands people to either know or ask about who RF is, I suppose. Years ago I brought back some Ben Shermans from a trip to England (before they were stateside) and I was always getting people asking me who Ben Sherman was and why I stole his personalized shirts. That little polo icon doesn’t have that problem, I guess.

FROM THE ARTICLE:
Unlike athletes’ product lines branded with a symbol — René Lacoste’s trademark crocodile or Greg Norman’s shark — Federer’s monogram puts no neutral zone between him and the person wearing it.

“It’s easy for people who have no idea what that alligator means to wear a Lacoste shirt without thinking they’re contributing to the greater glory of another person,” Bierut said. But in Federer’s case, the product is burnishing his image: he is the brand.

Nike’s monogram for Woods (designed in 1996, revised in 2000) is a stark, geometric, semiabstract design that has been deployed more sparingly than Federer’s. Some recognize Woods’s monogram from the caps he wears; others have never noticed it.

Personally if I did the design-I would’ve just turned those iconic eyebrows into swooshes

Its a combination of my loves of typography, artist colaborations, illustration, photography. And to boot, my day job as has me flipping the script on logos I know all too well, over and over again, so I had a a special appreciation for the variety and innovation these art director(s) and guest artists brought to this project time and again.

Below are a small selection of my favorites, check out the site for a ton more.

By Anthony Costifas, 2005

By Tom Schierlitz, 2005

By Steve Powers, 2006

By Kenvin Van Aelst
By Kevin Van Aelst, 2007

Love Letter is a project by Stephen Powers with the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program and is sponsored by the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage through the Philadelphia Exhibitions Initiative.  Generous support provided by the Brownstein Group and Septa.

http://www.aloveletterforyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/1_Steve_19894.jpg

Stewart Brand founded Whole Earth in 1968. And he seems to me a hippy who actually makes a lot of sense, while somewhat counter intuitively convincing you of the values of nuclear energy and the fallacies of Organic farming. Check it out.