Happy Birthday, Illicit!

One year ago today, I decided to start this blog. To be honest, I wasn't in a good place at the time. I needed to channel my frustration into something positive. A year later, I can't believe this project's momentum. We've got readers across the globe who check in daily for new photos and stories.

For today's post, I'm keeping the words to a minimum. I want to feature photos from my friend Ben. He exemplifies the reason I continue to blog: his excitement and enthusiasm about street art is infectious. He's always looking for new ways to tweak his style. To all those readers like Ben, thank you! To say thanks, here is a birthday gift for you: if you send me your address in an e-mail before midnight EST, I'll send you a surprise 'Thank You' gift. It may be small, but I completely appreciate your support! Now, on to the eye candy.

Thank you all for a wonderful year. If you have any suggestions for year two, leave me a note in the comments!

Friday ProFile: Matt Siren

The first time I saw Matt Siren's work was in Boston. I worked at a magazine in Back Bay and would take the Green Line back to my train. At the time, the city was refurbishing the Copley station, so a busted wooden overhang sheltered the stairs below. For about 3 seconds before it was pulled down, I saw one of Siren's ladies (sans moniker) next to a Goldenstash wheatpaste. On the train ride home, I wondered, "Who does that lady belong to?" Hence my excitement when his note popped up in my inbox.

As a kid, Siren terrorized his parents' house, drawing all over the walls. Later on, he started noticing the change happening in his own neighborhood. "It was covered with graff when I was younger," he recalls, "and I'm pretty sure every kid in the neighborhood had a tag even if they weren't into graffiti." Magazines, trains, and books like Subway Art traversed borough lines and spread new styles and techniques. "The buff was pretty much nonexistent back then. Kids wanted to take their time on a piece. You couldn't help but be inspired as a young artist. I was personally influenced by graffiti characters and anyone who could do more than letters."
From the jump, Siren loved the rush of tagging. "I loved doing a late night run and seeing it the next day with the sun blaring on it," he reminisces. Rolling around with his crew, he tagged all through high school and college. "I liked being a part of a like-minded unit pushing the same message. My friends always had my back."
In early 2000, Siren transitioned from spray paint to stickers and posters. "I wanted to stamp my posters and stickers with my name," he adds. "Coupling 'Siren' to my first name sounded decent and kept my identity safe." At first, he obsessed over every little detail. The more he worked, the more he loosened up. "Adobe Illustrator opened up a whole new world to me in 2001," he says. "All of a sudden, I was able to finish up a piece with clean lines and simple shading. From there, I just kept getting looser, incorporating more layers including type. Hitting up North America's east coast, he's bombed everywhere from Toronto, Canada, to Tampa, Florida.
Getting up can be risky, but Siren is always up for the challenge. "I've received so much positive feedback and many messages of inspiration. It makes me happy and motivated to keep creating and putting work out there." The game has changed considerably since he first started, but Siren doesn't necessarily think it's a bad thing. "Graffiti has made its mark on society and is not being celebrated by the public much more now than ever before," he insists. He predicts people will go bigger, higher, and more permanent in the future. In the digital era, the street art community is better equipped to share and swap ideas than ever before. "The Internet is a huge force behind the popularity of street art today," he says. "Artists are connecting online, sharing thoughts and opinions, and trading art. It's an amazing phenomenon; it's defining the street art scene."
Thanks so much, Matt! For more info, check out his website.

Also, I woke up and found a link from my friend Will this morning. It's for Mudo, Blu's new animated film about street art. Definitely give this a look! Thank you, Wilhelm. :)

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

If you're in the CT area this weekend, make sure to stop by Manchester Community College for the annual Nikki's Run, Walk, and Roll. I'll be getting my jock on and eating some Great Harvest bread. No matter what you do, enjoy the weekend!

September 2009: Knitta at New York Fashion Week

Magda and her Knitta crew never fail to keep me posted. Whether they're answering questions for the Friday ProFile or shooting me updates about trips to Australia, they always keep me in the loop. This month, they're covering New York's Standard Hotel with a variety of yarn-based creations. The photos below are from the Standard's Hollywood location, but who knows what they'll knit up this time around. They write:

"Knitta Please and The Standard are pleased to present Knitta Please + The Standard, a knit graffiti installation in celebration of New York Fashion Week."
"The event takes place September 9-17, 2009 at The Standard Hotel (848 Washington Street New York, NY 10014)."
"The partnership, in celebration of NY Fashion Week, emphasizes the intersections between textile art, design, craft, street culture and the DIY movement."
"When the yarnbombing collective first began tagging in 2005, their art responded to the mass-produced. By inserting the handmade into a landscape of concrete and steel, they were cheekily adding warmth to our urban fixtures. Now Magda Sayeg, KnittaPlease founder, works to redefine a craft that has been relegated to the stuffy attic of people's brains and dismissed by a limited vision for knitting's purpose, its function, its practitioners. Sayeg's work repositions this granny pastime in public spaces, streets formerly dominated by a hard, masculine public art culture. The fuzzy tags invoke entirely different connotations than spray paint does, antagonizing expectations and initiating dialogue about community-driven art."

Thanks, loves! For more Knitta updates, visit the official web site.

July 2009: Ellis G. in NYC

When I first saw Ellis G.'s work, I saw a piece about his fire-tagging on Gothamist. His crazy ass tags a wall, then lights the paint on fire before it dries. Hopefully, I'll be able to catch this phenomenon live at his show on July 23rd. Here's what's up:

“Ellis Gallagher is a native New Yorker, born in Manhattan in 1973. He has made his name through paramount innovations in street art. His chalk etchings outlining the shadows of everyday objects are the evolutionary result of his former graffiti-writing career. His graffiti works can be found across New York City’s streets, in Europe and Asia, and in magazines, newspapers, film productions, and beyond. His first book, Adhesives, is to be published with Powerhouse Books and will feature spreads of graffiti and street art stickers, the ultimate compendium of contemporary urban art lovers the world over.”
“In his highly anticipated debut solo show exhibition, Ellis Gallagher continues his quest in deobjectifying the common street icon and manifests it into the surreal. His sidewalk chalk drawings of the city’s overlooked objects- mailboxes, garbage cans, street signs, bicycles, etc.- have become a trademark in street art culture worldwide. ‘Ocular Echoism: The Autonomy of Ellis Gallagher’ is collectively the artist’s most ambitious body of work to date and includes limited edition screen prints, original photographs, skate decks, fire tags, and an indoor New York City street scene instillation, garbage included.”
“Ellis Gallagher’s shadow chalk drawings traverse pre-conceived perceptions of street art’s brevity by manipulating the impact of the ever-changing city landscape, altering it into a sublime standstill. His graffiti-writing roots have evolved into an outlet that speaks and interacts with its viewers by engaging in an ongoing, lucid conversation between the artist and the city residents. Aesthetically, chalk as a medium behaves perfectly to accomplish Ellis Gallagher’s mission to transpose the mundane into something magical. The medium is temporal, opaque, and transcendental, removing the view from his or her own personal reality and subjects one to question something else all together, a renewal of their surroundings that are experienced and disregarded every day.”
“Existing only as a reflection of the environment, Ellis Gallagher’s work spatially considers the everyday object and the study of transitory light and color. In daytime, he aims to perfectly enclose projected shadows, capturing their essence with a chalk outline. The constant battle between the art and the fleeting sunlight sanctions these drawings as being rare and beautiful. Beneath the static glow of the city’s street light, Ellis Gallagher manifests the cityscape into his own playground of glowing shadows.”

Thanks, Ellis! Definitely pop over to his show on July 23^rd. It’s going off at Collective Hardware (169 Bowery bet. Broome and Delancy) at 7 p.m. For more info, check his website. I think I need to be there to witness a fire tag firsthand. Any takers?

Finally, one of Ellis's latest pieces is by the Os Gêmeos mural in memory of Dash Snow.

July 2009: Os Gêmeos in NYC

This weekend was completely surreal. After Will tipped me off to Os Gêmeos painting on E. Houston and Bowery, I literally ran down there to check it out. When I arrived, I was speechless (probably due to oxygen debt). In front of me, Otavio, Gustavo, and the rest of their crew shook cans of MTN 94 and picked out stencils. As I stared there gaping, I mustered the courage to ask Otavio if they'd be there the next day. He said yes.

On Friday, I spent a good two hours sitting on the curb watching them paint. The best part was being able to sit and chat with passersby. From little kids to grandparents, everyone thought that the mural was beautiful. Some were a bit concerned that the 'Keith Haring' mural was being destroyed, but I explained that it was actually a reproduction. Once their fears were assuaged, they were pleased with the replacement.
I also met some serious street art heads. I spoke with Mike, who told me about a school in SoHo that I need to photograph. He's been all over NYC photographing graffiti. Then there was Bob, an artist who loved Os Gêmeos and The Five Obstructions. People who knew the twins were thrilled. In between spraying and assessing the mural, they signed autographs and took photos with fans. A group of women invited them over to their apartment for dinner. ONE MORE.
Some heavy-hitters showed up, too. Jeffrey Deicht, the owner of Deicht Galleries, stopped by to say hi. He did the Haring reproduction and commissioned Os Gêmeos for this new project. In addition to the wall, he brought by a truck and had them tag it up. Some of their friends tried hanging off the back of the truck to tag the side facing traffic. Later on, legendary graffiti photographer Martha Cooper showed up to snag some shots. By this point, I was completely starstruck and incapable of speaking.
Today, I stopped by just to say hi. Yesterday, they tagged up the Bronx. Otavio and I had a chat. Apparently, they're enjoying their time in NYC (whenever they get a free minute). Gustavo offered me a water before I had to leave. Each time I visit, I see a new little facet that impresses me. From the patterns on the jackets and pants to the wisps of hair on the woman's head, their attention to detail is impeccable. Once they complete the mural, I'll post a full-length shot.
Watching the twins paint had such a calming effect on me. While I spent two hours sitting on a hot sidewalk, it didn't feel like that long at all. As other people obliviously passed by, I wanted to explain what was going on. I felt like I was in on a big secret. On the postcard I wrote to them, I said, "Even when you leave, your mural will remain. It will feel like you're still here." I'll miss them when they leave, but I'm beyond pleased that I spent a little time with them.

Friday ProFile: Abe Lincoln, Jr.

President Abraham Lincoln wasn’t known for being a party starter. J.T. Duryea wrote, “In temper he was Earnest, yet controlled, frank, yet sufficiently guarded, patient, yet energetic, forgiving, yet just to himself.” Slow to act, Lincoln took his time and refrained from bold, brash behavior. Abraham Lincoln, Jr., on the other hand, is quite the firecracker. Born and bred in pre-Silicon Valley territory, he currently lives and works in New York City. While he pays the bills as a web designer for an e-commerce company, his alter ego is anything but 9 to 5 mundane. From street art to hardcore bands, Abe gets wild after hours.

Inspired by 70s Marvel Comics and Scooby Doo, Abe started scribbling when he was three years old. “The first thing I ever drew was Scooby Doo,” he recalls. “I had a Scooby Doo coloring book with tracing paper and I traced Scoob dead near perfectly. I went from that to pooping birds in 30 short years!” As a teenager, he tagged the suburbs with his local skate team. On the punk scene, wheatpastes, stencils, and stickers became familiar ways of advertising a show or protesting political issues. Following his teen years came a period of indoor creative activity. “I quit doing street art for a long time and got into artist multiples and production art,” he says. “I love having stuff fabricated and looking really high end.”
It was during this period that Abe earned his trademark moniker. “Before I was doing fancy arts and crafts for international patrons, I knew all these old punk dudes from the Black Flag days who had gone soft,” he says. “They were all into being singer songwriters with deep thoughts and acoustic guitars. At one point, I said, ‘Fuck this, I’m going to have to remind them what good music is all about.’” With no musical training whatsoever, he founded Gettysburg Express. Decked out as the 16^th President of the United States, he’d sing hardcore songs about the Civil War from Abe’s point of view. After a chance encounter with an editor of Details, Abe got press for his cracked out concept band. “I was photographed wearing a fake beard and a convict’s jumpsuit with a big gun silk-screened on the back.” At the end of their set, guitarist John Wilkes Boothe shot old Abe in the and sang the encore, “I Killed Abe Lincoln.”
The band didn’t last, but Abe moved on and channeled his quirky creativity into street art. “As an artist I had basically quit for ten years,” he explains. “I didn’t really resonate with anything out there. Fancy art didn’t speak to me. Although I still read Juxtapose every month, I was not of the pop surrealist style of art, either. I discovered Wooster Collective in 2003 and immediately found a group of artists with whom I connected.”

Beginning as a sticker artist, Abe’s style eventually incorporated other mediums. His work made its way to India, Thailand, Japan, Mexico, and most of Western Europe. As a resident of NYC, he confesses that the Big Apple is still is favorite place to work. What’s the most unusual location where you can find his work? “I put a combo of stickers up in a phone booth in the foot hills of the Indian Himalayas,” he responds. “I actually drew Char, my pooping bird, on a 10 rupee note and used it somewhere in the hills. Years later, a friend of mine was in the area and he got it back as change for some shit he bought. That was surreal and very cool.” He loves Char dearly, but sometimes repeating a character makes it tricky to stay original. “It can be a struggle to come up with fresh stuff using the same figure. Doing one vector character over and over again over the years can get pretty dull.”

Abe is a natural born hustler who never stops working. Tonight, his Handcrafted Vectors show opens at Seattle’s Schmancy Toys. Next on the bill is Fugue State Records, a collection of fake 7”s. He’s also working tour tee shirts, flyers, and stickers to accompany the records. Fans can support the project through KickStarter. Later in August, you’ll find his work at DDR Projects and a new music venue in Brooklyn. By the time October rolls around, he’ll have another show at Brooklyn’s Last Exit Bar. After that, who knows what’s in store for 2010.

And what’s in store for street art? “The hater in me calls street art Viral Marketing 2.0,” he smirks, “but I’m glad there are a lot of artists working out in the streets who can prove me wrong.” In ten years, he suggests, the medium might be played out and attracting little attention. However, the die-hards will stick around. “No matter what,” he adds, “the guys who are doing it for real will still be out there.”

If you like Abe's stuff, hit 'em up style on Flickr or Facebook. Thanks, Abe! If you're in Seattle, be sure to check out his show tonight.

FRESH PAINT: Os Gêmeos on Houston

Normally, I don't post twice in one day. It's just me over here at Illicit, so one is usually all I have in me. But when Will texted me today, I felt compelled to double dose it. While he was out on Houston, he found some guys painting over the Keith Haring mural.

Turns out those guys are the dynamic duo Os Gêmeos. I was ready to run out of the building and across the Williamsburg Bridge when I heard the news. Will writes:
"I saw this on the northwest corner of East Houston and Bowery St. The state made the building owner paint over the previous mural which honored Keith Haring and said the twins could paint it."
"Apparently, the twins also have some murals in Coney Island, and some work up with the 'Deitch Project' Galleries in SoHo, or the Lower East Side (I'm not the best interviewer; I have a bad memory)."
"I'll take a picture with my wide angle from across the street when they're done, but I'm sure you'll get to it before I do."
I'm lacing up my running shoes right now. Will, you are the best interviewer ever because you are at the right place at the right time! Thank you!

June 2009: "Whole in the Wall" at Helenbeck Gallery

On Tuesday, I took a break from my job (applying for jobs) to stroll over to the Helenbeck Gallery.

Located on W. 35th St. near 10th Ave., the gallery's currently showing "Whole in the Wall," an exhibit dedicated to the best of American and European street art and graffiti. I still find it hilarious that galleries have shows for street art when all the work is on canvas, but that is a conversation for another time.

This spacious warehouse was packed with paintings, prints, and photos spanning nearly three decades. Martha Cooper's photos of fresh-faced Lady Pink decorated the room dividers while Blek Le Rat's trademark rodents held their ground next to Daze's loopy tags. Tagging into the growing toy industry associated with urban art, Frederic Plateus's Technicolor 3-D explosives provided a playful take on the term 'bomb.'
One of my favorite artists represented was Ikon. In "BBoys Ik-Men," the painting pictured above, sullen Wolverines and Storms pout with defiantly crossed arms. Upstairs, "Good Morning, Kids" is anything but G-rated. Ernie brandishes an AK-47 and Rubbie Duck stands ready to shank with a knife in his beak. His bright palate and cheeky take on pop icons definitely won me over.
It's impossible to capture the energy of a street piece in a gallery setting, but I appreciated the show for what it was. My only criticism involved organization. If I were curating, I would've organized the pieces chronologically. Jumping from JonOne to Nunca made the show feel a bit choppy. I would've liked to see some logical progression in the set-up. However, I did enjoy the quirky juxtaposition of antiques and graff on the second floor. Huge paintings by Sharp and other artists decorated a room filled with 18th century giltwood furniture and velvet curtains. When I arrived, Sharp himself sat at an antique desk, doodling new tags as Run-DMC blasted from the boom box.
This exhibit only runs until June 27th, so pop over quickly before it's gone. The Helenbeck is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:30 am to 6:30 pm. For more information, check their website.

When I post tomorrow, I'll be in DC. Let me know if there's anything I should check out while I'm there!

June 2009: Ema in NYC

I went out for a great hunt today and emerged victorious with lots of new photos. Thanks, New York! However, I'll save my stories for another time. Today's post features NYC artist Ema. This accomplished lady has her roots firmly planted in graffiti, but she dabbles in a little of everything. She sent along a whole file of photos and apologized for not sending more (something about 'getting her Ph.D?' Applause, ma'am!) This busy bee writes:

“I have been painting walls since my early teens, and my style has changed quite a lot and many times since then. I used to be a hardcore graffiti writer and now I’m more of a peaceful mural artist. I like to use a bit of humor and sometimes cynicism in my paintings although it is not always obvious. Because of my roots in old school hip hop graffiti, it’s always hard for me to call myself a ‘street artist’, although I guess it applies to me too, since I am making art in the streets.”

“For over 10 years I only painted my different graffiti names (ema, robot, arab, com, buffy….) on various types of surfaces and places, I started painting characters around 2006 and have been exploring a more illustrative/figurative path since then. I have a soft spot for painting chubby guys with moustache, but I also like experimenting other things (for example, a series of ‘lonely spade’ posters I made for this past Valentine’s Day.) I did that as a response to the work of this other street artist from Brooklyn who pastes hearts with happy faces. My spades look sad, grumpy or angry and I pasted them the first time on a lonely Valentine’s Day.”
“I like painting walls in neighborhoods where I know the people will enjoy it. I usually pick crappy walls. Once my painting is there, no matter how good (or bad) it is, it will look at least better than it used to.”
"I spent three months stuck outside the States last year because of immigration problems, so I spent some time in Berlin as well as other places. That was right around the time when the large hydron collider popular fear of black holes was in the news. The sad thing for me was that being stuck outside the country where I normally live felt like a black hole (somewhat because I lost a lot of money and job opportunities). One day, I just painted a moustache-wearing chubby looking LHC physicist."
"This is an Ema piece surrounded by characters from my friends Kid Acne (UK) and YZ (France). I believe this photo is from May 2006. I really loved painting this wall. It was on Bedford Avenue at the corner of Grand Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. This street is one of the busiest in the neighborhood. Someone told us we could paint there, so we took the whole day painting. Apparently the owner was not aware of us painting there, so he got mad, and painted over the whole thing two weeks later. It turns out that this spot is a commercial space. You have to pay to advertise yourself!"
Thanks so much, Ema! For more photos and info, check her out on MySpace.

2008 and Summer 2007: Moscow and NYC with Loco Fox Army

No cutesy comments from me today. We're skipping the appetizer and heading straight to the main course. Hailing from Moscow, Russia, Loco Fox Army has a lot to say. He writes:

"My name is Loco Fox Army (I also write FearTheRipper). I’m from Moscow, Russia. I got obsessed with illegal graffiti since I first saw a Dirty Hands video in my childhood. For me, writing on illegal walls was and still is a serious source of adrenaline and also the way to get into a duel with the system and win. I’ve never been too interested in writing fonts. What really inspired me the most were characters. I tried to invent a cool character – simple as possible but original, stylish, and vivid. I wanted a character that could be painted around as throw-ups but that also could give me an opportunity for more complex pieces. And, last but not least, I needed a character that could express my own opinions and ideas. So Loco Fox was born."   

"I started writing Loco around 2005-2006, pasting stickers but mostly doing throw-ups. For me, throw-ups are the essence of illegal writing. To stay up, you have to do a lot of them in risky places, be quick, make’em look good, and be ready to come back and repeat because the city buffs everything in a moment. I’m pretty far from thinking about myself as “graffiti writer”, “artist” or any other cool names people like to call themselves. I’m the guy who draws Fox everywhere he goes and tries not to get caught." 

"From an early age, I was deeply involved in DIY hardcore/punk movement, anti-fascist action, and skinhead culture. (I do hope that the readers know that despite the ugly mass-media propaganda, real skinhead culture is strictly anti-racist and actually is a product of black and white unity, based on working class ethics and black music, such as ska and reggae). It’s a well known fact that today Russia has a serious problem with neo-Nazi movement, which is backed up by the authorities. Living in Russia, you can get crippled or killed just for the “wrong” accent or skin color. Neo-Nazi thugs often attack punk rock shows, because they see them as a threat to their sick propaganda. There is a real war going on in the Russian streets today, while the government and puppet mass media do its best to hide the facts." 

"That’s why Loco Fox Army always tries to express strong anti-fascist, anti-authority message and Loco Fox himself often appears as an anti-fascist skinhead. My friend sand I are also involved in a movement called G.W.A.R.P. – Graffiti Writers Against Racial Prejudice." 

"Loco Fox Army tries to support anti-fascist movement and DIY culture by any possible means. For example, in 2006 I was asked to create a cover for an international punk/hardcore compilation called Planet Of Friends. The compilation was a benefit for Alem Assefa, a guy who was beaten into a coma by Neo-Nazis for being black. All the proceeds from the record went to support him and his family. In the summer of 2008, Loco Fox Army created a logo and a flyer design for Courage Fest, the first big open-air anti-fascist hardcore festival in Moscow."  

"Loco Fox Soldiers can be seen not only in Russia and the former Soviet Union. In the summer of 2007, I made a short trip to New York where I tried to hit everything I could reach. My friends from Big Apple say that some of the Loco Fox Soldiers are still up. A short video about this tour can be seen here."  

"My plans for the near future? I'll continue supporting my culture and spitting in the faces of fascist authority. Ultimately, I'll go on a world tour." 

All photos courtesy of Loco Fox Army. For more information, check his MySpace or his new website.

Thanks so much, Loco! And to all my Russian readers, благодарю вас за вашу поддержку! Tomorrow's post is guaranteed to blow your mind, so get ready. (Hint: check your calendars).