12ozProphet

Yesterday I went to BronxArtSpace to catch the end of a photo exhibit of work by Lisa Kahane and Francisco Reyes II.
They both shot the South Bronx in the late 70’s and early 80’s, a time when most photographers were not about to risk their
camera equipment by walking around snapping pictures.  Lisa called her group of photos “Lapses of Memory” and Francisco
called his “The Exile of Innocence”—insightful titles for excellent work. Hard to believe that thirty plus years has passed.

Last night Lisa was busy shooting portraits for her present Bronx project and Francisco was hanging out. I was surprised to
see his photo of Dondi’s Children of the Grave. I have photos of Children of the Grave Parts 2 & 3 but this was the first time I’d
seen Part 1. Francisco told me that he’d always thought of the pointed roofs of the building at 180th Street as representing a
crown over Dondi’s piece.

Paris was da bomb! Blade, Henry Chalfant and I teamed up for a graffiti photo show at Galerie Bailly
directly across from the Louvre. We had a warm-hearted opening in spite of the freezing cold. Lots of
writers came and we were busy signing books all night.  It was only Blade’s second trip to Paris so it
was a fantastic opportunity for local writers to get a big, beautiful Blade tag in their black books. Keith
Baugh came all the way from England with copies of his new book of early subway graffiti that he shot
from 1973-75. You can order one from his website Big up to exhibition organizers Valeriane and Helene
Bailly for their support and to Nicolas for our beautiful catalogs.

I didn’t have a lot of time to check out the scene but with the help of my friends Silvio and Marie-Laure
and their handy cars, I was able to get around to some pretty cool areas. Paris is an absolute graff and
street art smörgåsbord. Stencils, stickers,wheat pastes, spraycan and roller graf and rooftop pieces are
around every corner as is Space Invader. I happily sampled everything with my trusty point and shoot
Canon—see snaps below—

Blade, Henry Chalfant and I are having an exhibition of 70’s and ‘80’s subway graffiti
photos in Paris next week at Galerie Bailly. Hope to see you there!

I spent the first week of December in Miami basking in the heat generated by hundreds of spray cans,
paint rollers and brushes wielded by an army of graffiti and street artists who had descended on the Wynwood
area of Miami for an incredible painting & pasting extravaganza. While more formal galleries catered to
the high end collectors across the causeway on Miami Beach as part of Art Basel, the streets of a lesser
known neighborhood called Wynwood were oveflowing with artists from everywhere doing their thing.

I was lucky enough to be able to photograph two different wall painting projects going on at the same time. One
of them, Primary Flight, founded by Books IIII three years ago, has matched walls within the community with
artists who wanted to decorate them and procured paint for doing so. The other project, new this year, was
spearheded by Tony Goldman of Goldman Properties, a developer with a history of starting up successful arts
districts including Soho in the 70’s.

Goldman purchased a group of unpromising looking two story former shoe warehouses in Wynwood and
decided to turn them into a street art museum. By teaming up with Jeffrey Deitch, he was able to entice a
star-studded selection of artists to come to Miami during Art Basel and paint day and night. What an incredible
photo op!!  Here are some of the walls in progress. Will post some Primary Flight ones in the following blog.
Unfortunately I didn’t stay in Miami long enough to see many of the finished walls but I’m sure there are lots of
photos of them on other blogs.

The Red Bull BC One, the premier international, individual B-Boy battle will be held in NYC next Wednesday.
I’ve been very lucky to have been invited to attend 3 of the last 4 of these amazing events—in Berlin, Sao Paulo
and Paris so I’m really looking forward to seeing the dancers from around the world battle it out on my home turf.

Today, in a related event, the Hip Hop Theater Festival presented B-Boys Ken Fury, Whorah, Sweet Lu, and Frankie
Flave in Times Square. A very appreciative audience gamely stood in the rain for an hour with their umbrellas to
watch the b-boyz demonstrate moves and speak about their lives. My friend Nika Kramer and I will be blogging about
the BC One all week.  You can check out more photos and info on the Red Bull BC One site.

Last night Aiko and I went to the opening of Ron English’s show, Immortal Underground at the Opera Gallery on
115 Spring Street. The show is an incredible mix of paintings and sculpture all produced over the past year. The
evening’s highlight was a surprise appearance of creatively costumed cowgirls and an obese Ronald Macdonald.
There was no shortage of photographers to record the moment.

Last night Henry Chalfant and I made our way out to Staten Island for the All City Black Book show
organized by On Two and Lask One VO5. The event celebrated the release of Graffiti New York by
Eric Felisbret and his brother Luke.  I first met Eric in the late 70’s in Dondi’s basement and he was
already knowledgeable about NYC graff. About ten years ago he started 149th St,  one of the first and
most extensive graffiti sites on the web. His new book is the culmination of many years of research and
documentation and is destined to become an essential sourcebook for serious graf heads.

The event was held at Charlie Balducci’s impressive NYC Arts Cypher, a space painted floor to ceiling
by local artists.. OnTwo had been telling me for ages about the lively Staten Island hip hop scene so it
was great to finally get a chance to experience it in person.

On Thursday, Shepard Fairey launched his Levi’s clothing colab with a live installation
in Times Square (which I unfortunately missed) and a signing of a 4 poster suite printed
with both front and back images. The posters were free with a T-Shirt purchase—a great
deal. The 50’s era “Stay Up Girl” with spray can is the best!

I’d heard a buzz about an up and coming arts district in Miami so when a friend invited me for a visit,
I jumped at the chance to check it out. Wynwood, an area in downtown Miami, is full of warehouses
formerly used by shoe importers that have recently been turned into galleries. There are dozens of
galleries in a 15 block radius. The two story warehouses have windowless, flat walls—perfect for murals.

In 2007 BOOKSIIII founded an organization called Primary Flight with the idea of bringing street artists
to Wynwood during Art Basel to paint on these walls. Last year around 100 artists showed up to paint.
The concept caught on and developers, gallery owners and artists are collaborating to foster a creative
community.

Last weekend was lucky to have BOOKSIIII and his partner TYPOE as my guides in Wynwood. They drove
me around and in a very short time I got to see an tons of legal and illegal art. Some of the commisssioned
walls are amazing but I was particularly taken with the pieces painted in an abandoned building where
squatters lived surrounded by walls full of graffiti. As of now, Wynwood lacks the kind of vibrant urban street
life I love to photograph in New York and Baltimore. It should be interesting to watch the arts district evolve.

Photographer Luz Martin is visiting NYC from Valencia, Spain celebrating her new book, Textura: Valencia Street Art.
It’s due out any minute. Yesterday we headed up to the Bronx to visit TATS Cru at The Point and check out some graff
in the area. Bio, Nicer,  BGee 183, and twins How and Nosm are completing a humongous banner mural for the Hong Kong
shoe company, Hogan. A block away was an even larger, freshly painted TATS wall full of original characters and intricate
details. If you’re planning a visit to NYC, Hunts Point in the Bronx is a great place to start.