12ozProphet

Eric Haze needs little introduction as he is one of the more accomplished artists of our genre, particularly through the HAZE brand of products, merchandising and commercial works for Scion, NIKE, Casio and others, what many didnt know about Eric Haze is how prolific he is as a painter. We know he was prolific on the trains when he was a young kid planting his iconic SE3 and Haze throw ups everywhere and then post graffiti he made the shift into graphic design where he further cemented his iconography into our psyche with memorable designs for the likes of The Beastie Boys, Pyblic Enemy, Def Jam, LL Cool J, and many others. With this show New Abstracts and Icons we see how the long hard traveled road has lead him to refine the vision and process of his work. I thought it was brave and daring, his breaking the perception of what would be expected of an artist of the graff genre, it also shows an artistic and intellectual maturity that connects him to the greater history of art in particular the Minimalist movement. The sculptures were great they were strong in contrast to he larger works and as simple as they were one would be deceived if to dismiss them as simple objects, in sculpture terms they confront the the perplex relationship of geometry, the void and light, they are also a nod to Isamu Noguchi’s Red Square sculpture which is in NYC as well. This is a compelling connection and to surround it by works that have the same strong minimalist context both in shape and color presented a huge division between the current trends of todays younger artists, his is a distilation of all that noise of youth and a self discovery in the qualitive and emotive value of the line experience itself. He also kept the color pallete to a minimal with strong Blacks, Reds and whites, the Black on Black and White on whites are strong works, on careful inspection you can see the labor of the hand, the build up of a steady brush stroke texture, in fact through the whole show one can see the steady concentration of his brush work, this no small feat my friends. Some of my favorites were the charcoal drawings which were dynamic and eluding to something really exciting down the line and they also broke the static presecne of the other works.

In all it was a show that was needing to happen not just for Eric but for us as well, it was a fresh dose energy and inspiration. The show is also important in a way I should point out, Haze produced and developed this show out of pocket, he independently took it upon himself to do this for his career and art, there were art institutions, gallerists, no brands, grants or trust funds, this was a huge commitment and gamble on his behalf. He and his assistant Carl put mad hours into this beautiful show and it was a great success and well deserved.

Make time to support the show go to Level2 812 Broadway off 11th St. it runs for a few weeks so try and swing by.

Lilou-vs-Morris

Crazy Legs RSC with Buck 4 tribute jeans

Mr. Freeze RSC with Frosty Freeze tribute jeans

Entry Art

Entry Tag

Last night was the Red Bull BC-One Championship was held at the Hammerstien Ballromm in NYC. It was a sold out show that brought out many diverse people both young, very young, (I took my 6 yr old with me but there were even younger kids with their parents), B-Boys, B-Girls, OGs, Hipster, Graffiti writers, Rappers, Poppers, Lockers, Rockers, Black, White, Latino, Asian, European, get where Im going with this? It was a celebration for all of us who love the art of the B-Boy battle. This was a heavily invested event by Red Bull, who has for several years committed to supporting and developing platforms for the B-Boy culture. The battle was presented in the round with a big circular stage surrounded by venue seating, it reminded me of a colosseum of battle. Everyone was in a great mood and spirits since RB hooked up an open bar and food for us. I ran into a bunch of friends as expected, I saw Fabel and Christie from ToollsofWar, Stash2 and Pete, Chino, Zulu Gremlin, Crazy Legs, Kid Freeze, Mr.Freeze, and many others.

KRS ONE was the host and was great! He held it down and was the right person for the job. He hyped it up something proper. The battle was hard from the gate and by the end of it the last two B-Boys proved they deserved the final round and Lilou from Paris took the belt over Cloud, he was heavy favorite from the jump and was a past BC1 champ. His final competitor Cloud from the US held his own and was strong but in the end the judges and the crowd that pulled for Lilou. See More here-

Courtesy of TOOLS OF WAR

PEACE! Afrika Bambaataa, The Universal Zulu Nation and The Federation for the Preservation of Hip Hop Culture want to personally invite you to celebrate the 36th Anniversary of UZN and the 35th Anniversary of Hip Hop Culture in the birthplace of Hip Hop: New York City from Nov. 13th through the 15th, 2009!  Please scroll down for the complete most up-to-date schedule!

Friday, November 13th, 2009:  UZN 36 - Harlem NYC
 
8pm-3am.  All Ages.  Battles begin at 10pm. Host: GrandMaster Caz.  Performances by King Kamonzi, Stik-E & The Hoods, MC K-Swift, Product and Billy Ray, Unknown The Universal Element, Maroon Society, DJ Mark Luv, DJ Lazy K, DJ Jazzy G, DJ Flawless and more tba.

UZN B-Boy/B-Girl Battles (1-on-1 &  3-on-3) + UZN DJ Battle (head to head: 90 seconds)

DJ Battle Prizes from Rane and Serato include:
1st prize: Rane SL 3 2nd prize: Rane SL 1 3rd prize: UDG/Serato/Rane Bag + Record Wallet
* Plus the Top 3 will each win a Rane/Serato 8 Gig Memory Watch!
Guest judges The Original Jazzy Jay, DJ EZ Rock, DJ Johnny Juice, DJ Mark Luv more tba.

$30 cover or $25 w/ flyer or print out of flyer. $10 off w/ Zulu Nation or Moorish Nationality Card.
No guest list. No video cameras @ Hip Hop Cultural Center @ Magic Johnson Theatre 2309 Fredrick Douglass Blvd at 124th St. 2nd Fl. Harlem NYC. Trains: 2, 3, A, B, C, or D to 125th St. http://www.zulunation.com
Saturday, November 14th, 2009:  UZN 36 - Harlem NYC
8pm-3am.  All Ages.  Host: GrandMaster Caz. Performances by Trouble Funk, KRS ONE, DJ Jazzy Jay, Immortal Technique, Donald D, Hasan Salaam, Camp Lo, Brothers Fantastic, Lakim Shabazz, Paula Perry, Chip Fu, The Chase Band, DJ Tony Tone, Cutman LG + 

$30 cover or $25 w/ flyer or print out of flyer.  $10 off w/ Zulu Nation or Moorish Nationality Card. No guest list. No video cameras. Hip Hop Cultural Center @ Magic Johnson Theatre 2309 Fredrick Douglass Blvd at 124th St. 2nd Fl. Harlem NYC. Trains: 2, 3, A, B, C, or D to 125th. zulunation.com

Sunday, Nov. 15th, 2009: UZN 36 Meeting of the Minds - Bronx

12noon - 2pm: Urban Archives Exhibit feat. work from Charlie Ahearn, John Ahearn, Afrika Bambaataa, Henry Chalfant, Joe Conzo, Martha Cooper, Tats Cru, Stefan Eins, Fashion Moda, Catherine Hazard, Lisa Kahane, Lady Pink, Jenny Holzer and more.
2pm: Whats The Name Of This Nation? ZULU!  Music and Dance tributes plus Meet and Greet.
3pm: Libations - Salutations To Our Ancestors of the past. R.I.P.
3:15pm: Presentation: The State of Hip Hop and The Rap Attack by Dr. Shaka Zulu and more! 4pm: Meeting of the Minds Community Panel: Can They Really Stop Hip Hop. Host: King Kamonzi.
5:30pm: Universal Zulu Nation Music and Dance Tributes.
12pm-6pm. Free! All Ages! Bronx Museum of the Arts 1040 Grand Concourse at 165th St. Bronx.
Trains D or B to 167th (closest) or 4 to 161st St. bronxmuseum.org.
More Info: 718.303.4375 or (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). zulunation.com.
Sunday, November 15th, 2009:  UZN 36 @ SOBs NYC

Performances by Grand Master Melle Mel, Naughty By Nature, Large Professor, Rebel Diaz, DJ Rockin’ Rob, Dana Dane, DJ Chuck Chillout, Positive K, Blahzay Blahzay, Shahiem, Craig G, DJ DP One and more.  Host: GrandMaster Caz

Doors open at 7pm.  21+ with proper ID. SOBs 204 Varick St. at West Houston Manhattan NYC.
1 train to Houston. Info: sobs.com. Only $25 in advance at http://www.ticketweb.com.  $30 day of or $25 with flyer $10 off w/ Zulu Nation or Moorish Nationality Card. No Guest List. No Video Cameras. http://www.zulunation.com

Come out and support the launch of Sue Kwon Street Level New York Photographs 1987-2009. If you missed her last show this is a good time to see her work and buy a signed book.

Courtesy of Slickster

Nice video of what the creative mind is capable of regardless of ones disability. Thanks to Jeff Newelt for sharing this.

Volvo debuts “Blind Preview” video of the still-secret S60 car.
The Swedish car company hired blind painter Esref Armagan to depict the car, which won’t be fully revealed until 2010 and is described by Volvo’s design director Peter Horbury as having “a much more dynamic and sculpted form than any previous Volvo.”

Photos courtesy of Matt Tucker

If you happen to be on Allen and Delancy Street look up and you will see my artwork for the Red Bull BC-1 Battle. I had no idea where it was going to be painted until Haze sent me a wk in progress shot. I went down to take flicks and it looks amazing, what was more amazing was when I turned around and I saw these two dudes all painted up and I recognized one of them and lo and behold it was Baby168 TVS and Charlie his partner who were painting my piece! Man I was floored, these cats were so spot on with this and they put in a lot of love on this piece.

Baby168 knew it was my work too so he was stoked about working it. It was an honor for me to have these guys translate my work, they really went all out, and unlike MTA they put my tag in as it was in the original artwork (more on me versus MTA to come), I was glad that someone like Francisco (BY168), who in his own right made a name for himself on the trains took his talent to loftier heights. This supports my argument about the current discrimination and prejudice regarding practitioners of the art and the institutions and media business that overlook the gift that graffiti is to many kids interested in artistic expression. You never know how far it can take you nor what or who it may inspire. More to come as all this is hitting NYC real hard right now in every station and boro. This is the new Style War!