12ozProphet

Video of the Year: Beyonce, ‘Single Ladies’
Best Male R’n'B Artis: Ne-Yo
Best Female R’n'B Artist: Beyonce
Best Male Hip-Hop Artist: Lil Wayne
Best Female Hip-Hop Artist: M.I.A.
Best Gospel Artist: Mary Mary
Best New Artist: Keri Hilson
Best Group: Day 26
Best Collaboration: Jamie Foxx/T-Pain, ‘Blame It’
Best Video Director: Benny Boom
Viewers’ Choice Award: T.I. (featuring Rihanna) ‘Live Your Life’
Best Actor: Will Smith
Best Actress: Taraji Henson
Female Athlete of the Year: Serena Williams
Male Athlete of the Year: LeBron James

Recent interview about the award design- http://slamxhype.com/art-design/carlos-mare-139-rodriguez-bet-award-sculptor-interview/

Yesterday we had the Memorial service/gathering for Mike IZ THE WIZ Martin and it was a nice turnout and heartfelt event. Mike left an indelible impression on many who painted alongside him and those who just by chance every morning on the way to work saw his name. It was graffiti branding at its highest order, ALL CITY. Thanks to Metal Man Ed, and everyone at Tuff City Tattos for supporting and celebrating his art and life.

Here is todays New York Times article on Mike- http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/29/arts/design/29martin.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

This is the link- http://motionographer.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/civilization_final.mov

Big up to Daz (David Samuels) DDS - RK and 2Kold of RareKind Gallery and Shop in London who blessed a memorial wall for IZ THE WIZ. A clear example of the global following and influence of a graff legend. http://rarekind.co.uk/

The passing of IZ (Mike) is a sad lost for our community and for us writers who wrote with him and also admired him as kids, IZ was iconic and a true All City King, a giant in the game. Much respect to his family and friends.

I just purchased this book after attending a seminar by NYFA where the Co-author/Art Lawyer Jonathan Melber (Co-authored with Heather Darcy Bhandari) discussed some critical issues about the business of being an artist. Their book Art/Work is a good read and has valuable information that many of us long wondered about, it demystifies the art world and is produced with real insider input from Curators, Artist, Lawyers, Curators and Gallerists. It also has good legal advice and forms.

Find out what they dont teach you in Art school…

http://www.amazon.com/ART-WORK-Everything-Pursue-Career/dp/1416572333

I received a great care package of books from a friend Adri Cowan who works with (MBP) Mark Batty Publishing. I was really impressed with the imprints that I am compelled to not just promote them but make a case for the value of tangible books, printed matter. I have a great affinity for books and reading I have learned to value them both in content and aesthetic so when I received these books I was excited to claw through them. Print does what the web cant do well and that is evoke a sensory emotion by virtue of holding an artifact in hand, this was an experience I had with some of these books, I was able to leaf back and forth, inspect the images closer and read text that mattered to me. I knew very little of Mexican Blackletter and viewed the typography as all the same until closer inspection and having read its historical relevance in the culture and in design my opinion changed. Same for the Made with FontFont book, it offered be an in depth look at historical and contemporary use of fonts, this is the type of book that should be in the education system for up and coming designers. Sure some of this reference can be found online but to me the fact that it still has its root in hard format appeals to me more and makes the most sense for the study of the subject.

These new books are well produced and include several people on the 12oz blog it was a nice surprise to see Greg Lamarche and Grotesk in the New Skateboard Graphics book, which incidentally has given me a new found appreciation for the art of the boards, something I had discounted in the past. The Japan Graffiti book and Protest Graffiti Mexico are good reads, I have to tell you as a veteran to the ‘graffiti’ culture I sometimes forget how this art transcends our earlier cause for expression on trains, these are good examples of how and why these cultures adapted it and made it their own.

There have been a good amount of books of recent about Graffiti and Street Art, and we here at 12oz are good at supporting these books, as well we should because they are so relevant to us and about us, we need to keep supporting this effort as the sound bites of web and video do not and could not fulfill the pleasure of holding a well produced book.

FIFTY8 GALLERY
presents
B-Line B-Boy Drawings and Sculpture
by Carlos Mare139 Rodriguez
58 Coles St. Jersey City, NJ.  Friday May 1, 2009 7-11pm

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