12ozProphet

READ FULL STORY ON NPR WEBSITE- http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124980282

Paralyzed Graffiti Artist Draws With His Eyes

Zach Lieberman of the Graffiti Research Lab started working on the EyeWriter with one man in mind: Los Angeles-based graffiti artist Tony Quan. In 2003, Quan was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease, leaving virtually every muscle in his body paralyzed except for his eyes. Lieberman and developers from Free Art and Technology, OpenFrameworks and the Ebeling Group were inspired to create low-cost, open-source hardware and software for eye-tracking to help Quan draw again.

EAZ One has produced what I consider a significant modern Style Writing (graffiti) reference that lifts the veil from the once sacred art of Style Writing and spray painting. His 2 volume DVD collection The Future of Graffiti - Wild Style Lettering and Painting Techniques showcases his unique talents not just as a graffiti muralist but as an accomplished 3D animator and producer, this hybrid talent shows how far artists of this genre have evolved. In the sci fi introduction to the DVD I got the sense that he means what he titles the future of Graffiti in which the future knows no boundaries but will still be looking back to its glorious past and traditions in order to move forward.

He lays out some good foundations about harnessing the essentials of lettering styles by breaking down forms and functions of connections as well as how it relates to typography, this was something I especially liked in the animation how he translated a type face to the the wild style letter he drafted. This is helpful in understanding the decoding of names as well as constructing them. I would have liked a more in-depth connection to typography and terminology as this is also a very relative association to todays art schooled writers. For a veteran like myself who still practices the art of Style Writing I found his approach easy and well balanced, his explanation of his particular style methods and his openness to interpretation made his work available to me to build on, this is a key thing since writers tend to act like they have the holy grail of style writing under lock and key. Knowing that we build upon our history and that no one is totally original as he points out makes these lessons invaluable if his intent is understood. His emphasis on reworking letters from many angles and reinterpreting letters from each other is also a little underestimated technique which I find even I dont utilize as I should.

For a novice this is a high recommendation, its a good overview and reference to build upon whether you like EAZ’s lettering style or not, this is about critical foundation lessons that we all have developed in our style over the many years of writing history. As a seasoned writer I appreciate his effort to educate and share the art form in this format which is for our time. I myself was educated on trains and blackbooks and had a small photo file to learn from as well as the apprenticeships with style masters like Kel First, Dondi, Duro, and others, this DVD set would constitute an apprenticeship reference that a young artist can return to over and over again.

His painting techniques are well documented as are his productions and collaborations with top writers like Ces and Serve, there is no disputing this mans talent and desire to keep the art moving forward and he wants us all along for the ride. I dont paint or care for it as much as Style Writing but after viewing this DVD I gained a bit of confidence to try something different. Anyone who picks up the lessons should not expect to be at his level- that said it should provide you with the necessary background of the do’s and dont’s.

Considering how I came into this art form in the mid 70s and to where we are now I am rather impressed at the dedication of EAZ in putting out this profession quality production that is a focused effort to understand style writing the most valued and innovative aspect of the genre.

Each One Teach One

Go cop it.

HHTF’s Hip-Hop Humanities Series:
A Conversation w/ Ken Swift & Joe Schloss, Ph.D.
Free & Open to the Public (Only 60 Seats)

Friday, March 12, 2010, NYC – Tisch School of the Arts
7:00pm – 9:00pm

As part of Hip-Hop Theater Festival’s Humanities Series, Joe Schloss Ph.D., will join the legendary Ken Swift in a conversation about aesthetics of Breaking and Rock (two distinct forms of Hip-Hop Dance), cultural history, the need for documentation and the absence of institutional support in preserving the heritage of New York’s Hip-Hop cultural legacy. Come join us for one of the many important conversations contributing to the growing body of discourse around these important forms of urban American culture. The respondent for the evening will be Imani Johnson, Ph.D., who is a Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Department of Performance Studies at NYU.

This incredibly fascinating and encouraging to our collective future. If it succeeds as it has thus far one can only imagine what benefits await the world at large..

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Right now Rio de Janeiro is the most exciting place on the planet bar none. It is the most creative and colorful time of the year during Carnival. NYC has nothing on Rio, period, this from a die hard New Yorican, the huge and most distinct difference is how they celebrate life and art as one and as part of the cultural fabric that binds them where as here in NYC and the US it is a far cry from such celebrations of self expression without it being motivated by self serving interests or money or posturing for a position etc. Its suffice to say that after the birth of Hip Hop the US even Europe has not produced any relevant culture or original idea, this is something I will address at length in the future, this is why we need to look outside of ourselves to renew our enthusiasm for what the purpose of creativity can serve as a collective cultural movement and celebration.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bH1ihQbKNIs

Ive been posting up some of the new and available technologies that we can use and will be using in the future for a reason, there is tremendous opportunity for application as an art form and equally as a form of communication. There is reason for trepidation as all these technologies will be used against you and in your favor, I personally try to sort out how it applies to my life and proceed with caution and enthusiasm. We all saw Minority Report with Tom Cruise and said WOW to the visual technology that was proposed, well it now it is a reality and here is a video link demonstrating it.

via New York Times online-

John Underkoffler, who led the team that came up with the interface that Tom Cruise’s character used in the 2002 movie “Minority Report,” co-founded a company, Oblong Industries, to make the gesture-activated interface a reality.

g-speak overview 1828121108 from john underkoffler on Vimeo.

Critically acclaimed graffiti-feature film “WHOLETRAIN” by Florian Gaag will be shown in:

New York:

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 7:00 pm at:

Goethe-Institut Wyoming Building
5 East 3rd Street (at Bowery)
New York, NY 10003
Tel.: +1 (212) 439-8700
Free admission
http://www.goethe.de/wyomingbuilding

Director Florian Gaag in Person
Special Guest: PURE (NYC)

“ideas last forever—and are the real drivers of history.”- Chris Anderson

2010 TED Conferenced- Blaise Aguera y Arcas demos augmented-reality maps which is amazing. If you notice Bling allows you to map where graffiti pieces are and allows you to post them. That is so next level my friends, make use of it.