All posts tagged: Skeme

BSA Images Of The Week: 04.14.24 / “Return2Burn” in Hunts Point, Bronx

April 14, 2024 Artists, BSA Images Of The Week

Welcome to BSA’s Images of the Week. We decided to dedicate this weekly survey to the artists of “Return 2 Burn”, its organizers, and the streets that brought us here.

The new “Return 2 Burn” exhibition at the old train station in Hunts Point, Bronx, serves as a modern continuum of pivotal artistic moments from New York’s vibrant past, echoing the groundbreaking energies of the Fun Gallery, The Times Square Show, and initiatives by Collaborative Projects Inc. (Colab) and Fashion Moda. These seminal venues and events of the early 1980s, such as the Fun Gallery (1981-1985) and The Times Square Show of 1980, were instrumental in merging the diverse cultural and artistic energies of “uptown” and “downtown” scenes. They featured artists whose names would become prominent, like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Futura, Rammelzee, Crash, Jenny Holzer, and many others whose work intertwined and intersected with the emergent graffiti and street art movements against a backdrop of punk, hip-hop, and an unprecedented cultural fusion that was happening across the city.

This week, the art world mourned the loss of Patti Astor, the trailblazing founder of the Fun Gallery and a pivotal character in Charlie Ahearn’s iconic film “Wild Style.” Her legacy, which has deeply influenced the intersection of hip-hop, graffiti, and urban culture, remains a testament to her visionary impact on New York City’s vibrant art scene.

Buff Monster. Return2Burn. Hunts Point, Bronx. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“Return 2 Burn” builds upon this legacy by featuring contemporary and enduring artists from those earlier movements like Skeme, Tkid 170, Martha Cooper, John Fekner, and Al Diaz—who notably co-created SAMO tags and cryptic texts on the street with Basquiat—linking the historical narrative of New York’s street art from its inception to the present. These artists’ work stood alongside others such as Chris from Robots Will Kill, Indie, Buff Monster, UFO907, and Wane for the vibrant opening night, celebrating an ongoing narrative of experimentation and discovery in the street art/graffiti scene today across this city’s boroughs. The atmosphere was electric, charged with the energy of fans, collectors, storytellers, and historical figures of the graffiti and street art scene.

This collection of photos was shot while the exhibition was still being assembled—”work in process” shots. Their sometimes raw quality signals that the exhibition is a living entity produced by many hands; curator Robert Aloia says it is expected to evolve throughout the spring and summer.

Skeme. Return2Burn. Hunts Point, Bronx. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The opening night crowd underscored the exhibition’s role as more than just a collection of artworks but also a gathering place for the community and a hopeful signpost for our collective creative future as we enter such uncertain times. It is a testament to the evolution of graffiti, street art, conceptual art, sculpture, public art, and muralism and their enduring significance in urban culture and public dialogue. The installed pieces—captured before the doors officially opened—are a diverse and dynamic reflection of the art movement, a snapshot of this moment at this location that recognizes the hundreds of artists whose work is on New York streets at any moment.

Through the visionary efforts of curators like Robert Aloia and Jennifer Giraldo of Outlaw Arts, and their collaboration with Majora Carter and James Carter of Bronxlandia, “Return 2 Burn” reminds us how exhibitions can serve as cultural synthesizers. The dedication of independent curators and organizers ensures that the legacy of New York’s unique art scene not only persists but also adapts and thrives, engaging new generations of artists and audiences alike. Moreover, the vital role of those who document, write about, and archive these events is crucial; without their work, such exhibitions’ rich history and transformative impact would not be preserved.

New York City has consistently nurtured subcultures by providing ample space, resources, and an environment conducive to growth—a spirit deeply embedded in the Punk D.I.Y. tradition. This creation of spaces for artists truly captures the essence of the city. And while we appear to be losing gallery spaces, we always have the streets. In New York City, D.I.Y. isn’t just a concept—it’s synonymous with NYC itself.

Skeme creating his latest for “Return 2 Burn”. Skeme, known as “Skeme the 3 Yard King,” is a prominent graffiti artist, celebrated within the graffiti community for his work in New York City during the movement’s early days. He was featured in the documentary “Style Wars,” a seminal film directed by Tony Silver and produced in collaboration with Henry Chalfant. The film is significant because it was one of the first documentaries to capture the graffiti subculture of New York City in the early 1980s.

The lineup includes: Aiko, Al Diaz, Austin Pinon, Basie Allen, BlusterOne, Buff Monster, Camella Ehlke, Cassandra Mayela, Chris RWK, Dr. Revolt, Faust, Ghost, Giz, Indie 184, JJ Veronis, John Fekner, Jon Burgerman, Judith Supine, Kade198, Lamour Supreme, Martha Cooper, Matt Siren, Modus, Peter Paid, Pork, Queen Andrea, Roycer, Saman & Sasan Oskouei, Sheryo & Yok, Skeme, Tkid, Totem, UF0907, VFR, and Wane One

Faust. Return2Burn. Hunts Point, Bronx. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“With it being an old train station I wanted to acknowledge the history of the space and honor the Bronx and one of the pioneers. Especially when it came to characters and Tracy168”, says Chris from Robots Will Kill. Chris / RWK. Return2Burn. Hunts Point, Bronx. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

John Fekner and Don Leicht. Return2Burn. Hunts Point, Bronx. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Al Diaz. Return2Burn. Hunts Point, Bronx. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

WANE. Return2Burn. Hunts Point, Bronx. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

TKid170. Return2Burn. Hunts Point, Bronx. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Indie 184. Return2Burn. Hunts Point, Bronx. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Lamour Supreme. Return2Burn. Hunts Point, Bronx. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

PORK. Return2Burn. Hunts Point, Bronx. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Pork did this fire hydrant message on the ceiling. He says, ‘Pa’lante’ – a Spanish slang word loosely translated as ‘onward,’ ‘go ahead,’ or ‘go for it’.”

JJ Veronis. Return2Burn. Hunts Point, Bronx. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Dr. Revolt. Return2Burn. Hunts Point, Bronx. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Roycer. Matt Siren. Return2Burn. Hunts Point, Bronx. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

VFR. Return2Burn. Hunts Point, Bronx. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Saman and Sassan Oskouei above, Pork below. Return2Burn. Hunts Point, Bronx. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Martha Cooper. Casitas Project. Return2Burn. Hunts Point, Bronx. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

UFO907. Return2Burn. Hunts Point, Bronx. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“S.T.O.C.K.S. & BOMBS” Opens with SKEME, TKid, Martha Cooper and Outlaw Arts

May 13, 2021 Artists

New York City is gradually opening up for business, and that includes art shows. Curator Robert Aloia has organized a small exhibition of graffiti writers including one of the few photographers who was there when the action was happening on the trains and in the yards during the 1970’s and 80’s, Martha Cooper. Martha has provided prints of her vintage photos that she took of the graffiti writers, Skeme and TKid decades ago when they were young and bombing the New York City subway trains. Skeme and Tkid are using the prints as canvases in a remix collaboration with Martha.

Martha Cooper and Skeme. Martha is holding a print from a vintage photograph of Skeme and TKid that she took in the early 80’s. The photo has been remixed by Skeme and TKid for the exhibition. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

We stopped by the raw space which is serving as a pop-up gallery to give you a sneak peek of the exhibition while in the process of being installed. The lighting was not adjusted and not all the art pieces were yet framed or hung on the walls.

Mr. Aloia tells us that Snake 1, Terrible TKid, Olga, Martha Cooper, Kade198, and Skeme Originally slated for last year this show was manifested from the mind of graffiti writer Skeme to do a show where the artists were in charge. Some of the artists are working in the space to finish their works and for the first time ever Skeme, Tkid and Martha Cooper have signed prints of Martha’s photos of them.

This is the 6th event at the space- previously featuring art from Al Diaz, Queen Andrea, Janette Beckman. Todd James & Testify Books, Sue Kwon, Chris RWK, Dr. Revolt, Peter Paid, ASVP and JJ Veronis.

Mr. Aloia says, “The vibes at the space between the artists, myself, friends, and passersby have been so good we can’t wait to open to the public this Friday.”

Martha Cooper and Skeme. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

We spoke with Robert Aloia, Skeme, and JJ Veronis briefly while they were preparing for the show.

BSA: How did you select such a diverse collection of artists across techniques genres and decades?

Robert Aloia: It was mainly SKEME’s idea and then we collaborated on who could be in it. So I’m going to give all the credit to him. I just helped edit the process

BSA: Does it feel like New York art culture is gradually waking up or did it never go to sleep?
Robert Aloia: I think for me it never went to sleep it’s the same for a lot of our collaborators and friends. And maybe to the general public it went to sleep a little bit. But it’s been vibrant – obviously during the beginning of lockdown it was dead for a little while.

JJ Veronis: Not for me. It’s been a great time for art and artists with all the boarded walls and everything – The legal and the illegal.

BSA: How do you feel about doing those remixes with Martha’s work now after all these years?
SKEME: Well I think they’re great. I feel like Dorian Gray, man, looking at all those photos we’re coming up on 40 years since some of these pictures were taken. My favorite of course is the one with me and TKid. Because now we’re both old and a little pudgy, you know, but I love the photo and the fact that we are able to come back and celebrate our friendship. Marty is always on the spot with the right photo, at the right time to catch the moment.

Martha Cooper, Skeme and TKid. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

BSA: She has this uncanny ability to be at the right time at the right place.
SKEME: It’s not an accident. That’s what separates the great from the mediocre

BSA: Robert told me that you initiated this exhibition a show where the artists are in charge. What does that mean in this circumstance?
SKEME: The artist is always in charge. It’s up to the artist to bring the creation to the venue. Even if you have a curator, and of course a curator’s job is very important right, but if the artist doesn’t bring potential or good works – what is there for a curator to pick from? You know it’s a symbiotic relationship man but the artist is always in charge to some degree.

BSA: How do you know when you have reached the point where the work is finished?
SKEME: When it conveys what I’m trying to say. So this one, for example – when you look at this I want you to believe that the plane is flying. If you can look at it and believe that the plane is flying then I am done.

Martha Cooper and TKid. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Outlaw Arts Presents: “S.T.O.C.K.S. & BOBMS” A Group Exhibition. 205 Allen St. New York City. May 14th -23rd.205 Allen St. L.E.S. Fridays 5-9 pm Saturdays & Sundays 1-6 pm.

European Month Of Photography 2020 in Berlin Features “Martha Cooper: Taking Pictures” Exhibition at UN

September 12, 2020 Artists

We’re proud to announce that our exhibition Martha Cooper: Taking Pictures will be featured during the prestigious European Month of Photography (EMOP) in Berlin this October for Urban Nation Museum’s very first photography-based program.

The European Month of Photography is a network of European photo festivals which began in 2004 when photography enthusiasts in Berlin, Paris and Vienna decided to put photographic art at the center of public attention for one month at least every two years. It is Germany’s largest photography festival.

Today EMOP it is a network of photography and visual arts institutions from seven European capitals: Berlin, Budapest, Bratislava, Ljubljana, Luxembourg, Paris, and Vienna with aims “to confront expertise in curatorial practice in photography and the intention to develop common projects, notably exhibitions, including exchange of information about the local photographers and artists concerned with photography. Founding members include the Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris, the Cultural Department of the City of Berlin (Museumspädagogischer Dienst Berlin headed by Thomas Friedrich) and the Department for Cultural Affairs of the City of Vienna (director Bernhard Denscher).

Martha Cooper: Taking Pictures combine photographs and personal artefacts in this retrospective that traces her life from her first camera in nursery school in 1946 to her reputation today as a world-renowned photographer. The exhibition covers Cooper’s wide range of subject matter. Many of her photographs have become iconic representations of a time, place, or culture and are distinguished by their frank human vitality, with an eye for preserving details and traditions of cultural significance.

We’re grateful for this recognition of the exhibition and look forward to participating in the EMOP 2020 this October and we hope you can join us at Urban Nation – if not in person then please join us ONLINE for our LIVESTREAM opening October 2 ! https://www.facebook.com/events/3400074053384213 All are welcome!

Our special thanks to our entire team at Urban Nation including but not limited to Martha Cooper and Director Jan Sauerwald and
Melanie Achilles, Dr. Hans-Michael Brey, Carsten Cielobatzki, Sean Corcoran, Annette Dooman, Steve Fiedler, Seth Globepainter, Florian Groß, Sven Harke-Kajuth, Nancy Henze, Michelle Houston, Hendrik Jellema, René Kaestner, Kerstin Küppers, Nika Kramer, Barbara Krimm, Tobias Kunz, Jean-Paul Laue, Beatrice Lindhorst, Nicola Petek, Carlo McCormick, Selina Miles, Michelle Nimpsch, Christian Omodeo, Christiane Pietsch, Dennis Rodenhauser, Jens Rueberg, Dr. Anne Schmedding, Malte Schurau, Janika Seitz, Anna Piera di Silvestre, Skeme, Markus Terboven, Reinaldo Verde, Lennart Volber, Akim Walta, Samuel Walter, Rebecca Ward, and Susan Welchman.

“Martha Cooper: Taking Pictures” : Retrospective Opens This October at Urban Nation Museum in Berlin

July 21, 2020 Artists

The URBAN NATION MUSEUM FOR URBAN CONTEMPORARY ART
presents a six-decade retrospective of Martha Cooper’s photographs.

MARTHA COOPER: TAKING PICTURES

October 2nd 2020 – August 1st 2021

Curated by Steven P. Harrington and Jaime Rojo

Skeme, the Bronx, 1982. Copyright Martha Cooper.

Combining photographs and personal artifacts, MARTHA COOPER: TAKING PICTURES traces her life from her first camera in nursery school in 1946 to her reputation today as a world-renowned photographer.

This retrospective is the first documentary exhibition to be presented at the URBAN NATION Museum and it ushers in a new era for the museum under its new director Mr. Jan Sauerwald.

MARTHA COOPER: TAKING PICTURES presents the photographer’s versatile vision of the world, with creativity found on every corner. The exhibition opens with the images from Subway Art, her landmark 1984 book with Henry Chalfant, now credited with jump-starting the worldwide urban art movement. Martha’s photographs documented the secret subculture of writers and the coded artworks they created illegally on thousands of New York City trains.

Martha’s photographs are distinguished by their frank human vitality, with an eye to preserving details and traditions of cultural significance. Many of her photographs have become iconic representations of a time, place or culture. The exhibition will offer a rare insight into Martha’s archives through previously unpublished photographs, drawings, journals, articles, letters, and artifacts. As a lifelong and avid collector, her private trove of black books, stickers, Kodak film wallets and child-made toys will also be on display. Emphasis is placed on Martha’s extensive travels and the artistic friendships that she has fostered internationally.

180th Street Station Platform, the Bronx, 1980. Copyright Martha Cooper.

Fans will recognize images from her books Hip Hop Files (with Akim Walta, 2004), Street Play (2005), We B*Girlz (with Nika Kramer, 2005), New York State of Mind (2007), Name Tagging (2010), and Tokyo Tattoo 1970 (2011). As an exhibition highlight, the original mock-up of her legendary book Subway Art (with Henry Chalfant, 1984) will be on display, as well as artworks from her personal collection including a pair of original paintings by graffiti king, Dondi.

A multi-channel video installation called “The Rushes” will debut in the exhibition by filmmaker Selina Miles, who directed the documentary Martha: A Picture Story and premiered at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival in NYC.

An extensive section called “Martha Remixed” showcases the work of over 35 artists who have reinterpreted Cooper’s photographs or paid personal tribute with portraits in an array of styles and mediums and locations. Unique to the exhibition, visitors will see the new collaboration between Martha and multidisciplinary Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic who will create a two-story mural onsite inside the museum.

“We were immediately excited to be given the opportunity to present the world’s first major retrospective of photographer Martha Cooper and to introduce her body of work to URBAN NATION Museum visitors. We are interested in focusing on Cooper’s photographic work and expounding on her working methods. In addition, we will present her worldwide collaborations with artists and protagonists of the street art and graffiti movement and provide audiences the opportunity to delve deeply into the cosmos of Martha Cooper’s work. We are delighted to be able to present and convey a unique compilation of photographs and artifacts from her personal collections.” – Jan Sauerwald, Director of the URBAN NATION Museum.

Lower East Side, Manhattan. NYC, 1978. Copyright Martha Cooper.

Martha’s specialty is documenting artistic process in public space. Her formal training in art and ethnology set a unique template to better understand cultural practices and techniques and her friendships with artists gave her close and personal access to show materials, tools and techniques in detail as they evolve over several generations. As part of this larger practice, Cooper’s iconic photos of clandestine graffiti activities have proven to be a valuable record and an important key to understanding the story of the movement’s proliferation around the world.

Martha’s curiosity has always driven her documentation. Her black and white photographs from her book Tokyo Tattoo 1970 (2011), represent her first foray into an underground art world and hidden practices. In Street Play she concentrated on the invincible spirit of city kids who are creatively rising above their bleak environment. Her photographs of 1980s breakers are the earliest published images of an unknown dance form at the time that became known as central to the definition of Hip Hop culture. As the first female staff photographer on the New York Post, Cooper sought out subjects to pursue independently. Her intrepid and sometimes risky pursuit of taking pictures has inspired many young people to pursue their own artwork and career paths.

Exhibition curators Steven P. Harrington and Jaime Rojo (New York) have been curators and co-curators for the URBAN NATION Museum since 2015 (Project M/7 Persons of Interest, 2015, URBAN NATION opening exhibition UNique. UNited. UNstoppable., 2017). They are also founders and editors of the influential art site Brooklyn Street Art (BSA) since 2008, a respected daily clearinghouse of the global street art scene.

1UP Crew Mural. Detail. Urban Spree, Berlin, 2017. Copyright Nika Kramer.

“Martha’s style is to dive in and be fearless, immersing herself in the moment – and she’s been documenting what she finds around the world for six decades. That’s the attitude we took curating this exhibition, knowing that each element captured in her work is genuine and transient. It is our goal for visitors to be transformed by her unique eye for a historic preservation of the ordinary that is often exceptional – whether it is documenting the verboten process of making 1970s graffiti, capturing youths performing moves that were later called “breaking”, the inking processes of Japanese tattoo culture, or the ingenious games kids devised for play in New York’s abandoned neighborhoods,” say Harrington and Rojo about MARTHA COOPER: TAKING PICTURES.

MARTHA COOPER: TAKING PICTURES
Exhibition Opening
Friday, October 2nd, 2020, 8 pm

URBAN NATION MUSEUM FOR URBAN CONTEMPORARY ART
Bülowstraße 7, 10783 Berlin-Schöneberg

Interviews will be offered in prior with Martha Cooper, Curators Steven P. Harrington and Jaime Rojo, and Director of the URBAN NATION Museum, Jan Sauerwald. Requests can be send to pr@urban-nation.com.

13 from 2013 : Jessica Stewart “The Roman Nun and the Spray Can”

December 25, 2013 Artists

Happy Holidays to all you stupendous and talented and charming BSA readers! We thank you from the bottom of our socks for your support this year. The best way we can think of to celebrate and commemorate the year as we finish it is to bring you 13 FROM 2013 – Just one favorite image from a Street Art or graffiti photographer that brings a story, a remembrance, an insight or a bit of inspiration to the person who took it. For the last 13 days they will share a gem with all of us as we collectively say goodbye and thank you to ’13.

If anyone knows Rome’s Street Art scene, it is photographer Jessica Stewart, who has been capturing a side of the city not typically seen since 2008, publishing Street Art, urban decay and more from the Eternal City on her RomePhotoBlog.

With a love of Renaissance and Baroque art as a baseline her eye is trained to see lighting and angles like a painter, and in this heart of Roman Catholicism, she is familiar with the iconic. In 2013, Jessica says she knew the exact moment when she had captured just such an image with her camera.

Skeme. Rome, Italy 2013. (photo © Jessica Stewart)

The Roman Nun and the Spraycan

~Jessica Stewart

So it’s of course incredibly difficult to think of just one photo, but when it really comes down to it, this image is the one that for me was a stand out moment of 2013. It’s one of those times that as it’s happening, you are internally jumping for joy at the fact that you’re on hand to capture it.

Plus, I really think to myself “in no place but Rome could this happen.”

I think with the whole street art and graffiti movement becoming more commercialized and organized, you can almost forget some of the original joy behind what made you get involved in the first place. In this case, GraffDream, one of two graffiti shops in the city, was holding it’s 6th anniversary jam in May. Skeme was in town from NYC for the occasion and already they day was special seeing him get swarmed by young Roman kids dying for an autograph.

As is the norm here, many of the wall spaces are owned by the church and in this case, the wall used for the jam was the side of a Catholic school who agreed for the usage in exchange for a lesson in graffiti for its young students. We were getting toward the end of the day when two of the sisters came out to collect the ladders and lock up items in the school.

I’m not sure if they were just swept up in the congenial atmosphere of the day or what, but before I know it one of the sisters takes a can and starts to pretend to work on Skeme’s piece! The look on everyone’s faces was priceless and Skeme lit up like a Christmas tree at the sight of it all.

To capture that moment was priceless and I love this shot for how happy the sister looks with her spray paint. Only in Rome! You don’t know how many people have asked me, “Is this photo for real?”

Yes, it is, and it is a time like this that makes you fall in love with photographing all over again.

Artist: Skeme

Location: Rome, Italy. 2013

#13from2013

Check out our Brooklyn Street Art 2013 Images of the Year by Jaime Rojo here.

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REVOK AND POSE and the Transformation of The Houston Wall

July 3, 2013 Artists, Interview

It took 80 hours and 7 humid sticky days and nights to complete, longer than it took God to make Heaven and Earth, according to scriptures. But the powerful transformation of the famed Houston Street Wall that took place last week had as profound an effect on many New York fans of Street Art and Graffiti as the melting of the North and South poles. And that was probably intentional.

The resulting flash flooding of emotions and summer storms washed over LA’s Revok and Chicago’s Pose as they joined each other with other MSK brothers to create a feast of popping color, styles, texture, tribute, and pure character – each climbing and gripping tightly to one another on a 90 degree diagonal grid that pushed it all together in one riotous composition.

Ultimately, the visually cacophonic mural, born amidst endless honking, screeching, sirens and a parade of curious passersby who pummeled the painters with a fusillade of questions and requests, is a joyous compilation for many, a perplexing mix of influences for others. With layers of tributes to fallen graffiti writers, shout-outs to friends and family, and heartfelt thanks to the host city that sparked a global graffiti scene decades earlier (including this very spot), the visiting thirty something graffiti brothers couldn’t quite quantify the depth of feeling they were experiencing as they slowly smashed a big wall in the heart of Manhattan.

For New York fans of a wall made famous by a long list of Street Artists including Haring, Scharf, Fairey, Faile, and others, most on the street hadn’t heard the names of these new guys but, like true New Yorkers, welcomed them nonetheless, usually emphatically. If there were worries about a strict adherence to rules of graffiti culture or whether the work borrows some conventions from pop, advertising, graphic design, or even Street Art, not many appeared to care about those distinctions. If anything, this wall is the apt expression of today’s’ blurred lines, where a throwie, a Lichtenstein, a sharply abstract pattern, and a hungry gorilla salivating over a police cruiser can all coexist harmoniously.

In fact it appears that Revok and Pose are metaphorically and technically casting aside once and for all the artificial divisions on the streets when it comes to styles and methods. Whether its the joint gallery shows, collaborative outdoor art festivals, or institutional venues like the sweeping “Art in the Streets” exhibit at MoCA a couple of years ago, it looks like graffiti and Street Art have been put into a room and encouraged to work out their differences. Now of course they’re copying off each others exam paper in the back row of class, but at least they’re not fighting so much. Okay, true, that announcement is still premature, but you can see the horizon ahead. Naturally in a city like New York that often typifies global diversity and routinely gives wide latitude for freedom of expression, the creative spirit as expressed with such technical skill and this kind of whole-hearted passion is invariably afforded a welcome. At least for a minute.

But that didn’t mean that Pose wasn’t feeling the pressure of doing this wall well, a pressure level that he estimated at ten times more than he would feel on a typical wall, even though both guys have been graff writers for more than two decades. “We’ve all painted a million walls. This is something that is sort of a landmark and for our culture it means a lot,” he said of the involvement of contemporary graffiti artists right here, right now. “The history is very daunting because you want to honor it, you want to pay tribute, but you also want to push the boundaries by really doing your best. It’s a really insane kind of platform.”

For Revok, the LA based writer who also is spending a lot of time in Detroit these days, the opportunity brings him back to a holy place he revered growing up, and he’s not going to miss it or take it for granted. Speaking about the profound impact that New York’s’ subway artists of the 1970s and 1980s had on the imaginations of countless youth in cities around the world, Revok envisions a booming audio tower emanating concentric circles in waves traveling to all who would hear.

“I imagine it as this kind of ring that just exploded and a ripple was sent out everywhere as far as it could go – and I’m one of those receivers, I’m one of those people who felt that,” he says as he describes weaving references into the mural by including names like Dondi and Iz The Wiz and even the letter “T” from the Beat Street movie poster. “You know all of those names in there – not all of them, but a lot of them – they were New Yorkers, they were a part of that movement at that time, they were people that created this world, this idea, this language that I’ve connected to and that is so dear and important and powerful to me. And now they’re not here, they are gone.”

“But what they created and what they gave to the world will live on forever. And coming here to New York, it’s a culmination – this wall right here, there is a tremendous amount of history right here, everybody that’s done it is important in their own right. For us to be fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to do this as outsiders I feel there is a responsibility to acknowledge the people and the culture that created me and my friends and now as it is coming back home, I’m paying tribute to New York graffiti, I’m paying tribute just to the general movement as a whole,” says Revok.

Of the many references are three call outs to their recently and painfully departed MSK brother Nekst, who a handful of crew members had joined together to eulogize on smaller walls in Brooklyn the previous weekend. Among the other names included are Ayer, Vizie, Cheech Wizard, Omenz, Sace, Case 2, Semz, Tie One, Rammellzee, and “All You See is Crime in the City” – a phrase associated with a famous train car work by Skeme from the 1980s documentary “Style Wars”. The guys even did shout outs to their kids.

Aside from the art category labels and the odes to community, both Revok and Pose are doubled up on this wall because of their common regard for sampling – that is, the combining of a variety of disparate elements and re-contextualizing them. As a basis for their fine art show that just opened at Jonathan Levine Gallery while they were in the city, the two have found that they both have a fairly active studio practice that they can collaborate on also.

Both say they sample from their environment, but how they go about it is unique to each. “I sample from all the years of being on the street and climbing around. After a while you start really having an appreciation for the environment,” Revok says as he describes his affinity for textures, details, and the underlying history of the built environment.

For Pose, it may be more of an atmospheric and emotional sampling where he takes “everything from everywhere. There are no rules. It’s like “Oh that sign is gold with a white outline and that is really impressive, like that is fucking beautiful – so I should do my name that way because I’ll catch as much attention as that sign does. It’s really those rudimentary kinds of things that I feel validated by and that are where I go with my art, it’s just that basic. That’s what was powerful for me – just taking from things around you and using them to express yourself, to create a dialogue, to create a narrative.”

Revok and Pose invited Rime as a guest artists, shown here at work. Houston/Bowery Wall. June 2013, NYC. (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

A closer examination of how some of the more commercial elements in the mural were achieved by Pose shows how he used a cut and paste process in the re-purposing of old signage. Drawing from a stash of “pounce patterns” that were given to him by a buddy while he was a professional sign painter in Chicago for a decade, Pose says his method of choice is pretty randomized, and he is sometimes as surprised as anyone about what he’ll pull out. “I’ve got all these old pieces of signage rolls from this guy – these are already a slice of history. My wife hates it; my whole garage is filled with his old pounce and all this stuff. And we started bringing them to walls – almost like rolling the dice and finding this kind of completely unforeseen elements to the wall.”

With all these plans and all these cans, the guys made sure that this transformation was a collaborative effort and they had some solid support help from other MSK members, the occasional volunteer, and the well known RIME, who Revok reflexively calls, “The best graffiti writer in the world.”

As each guy reflects on the team, the same topic of the importance of collaboration arises – a sort of progressive vision where crew members alternately work as assistants on each others projects. “We’re all really close and we play a significant role in one another’s lives and what we paint – it’s really natural for us to collaborate. I think that one of our strengths is how we feed off one another and how we motivate, influence and learn from one another. In the actual act of painting often times we work together with one kind of common goal,” explains Revok.

“We will all work together and it is all kind of a community effort to make things happen. It’s much more fun that way. I’ve been painting graffiti for 23 years now. After a certain point, just like going and painting your name all the time – it gets redundant, it gets boring. You know, you want to have fun, you want to experiment, you want to do different things. My friends and I over the last 10 years or so have really had a lot of fun experimenting and painting on a collaborative level, which is probably not that common for traditional graffiti guys. It’s a lot of fun.”

Pose agrees that collaboration was crucial in creating the new piece on the Houston Street Wall, and for him the goals were pretty clear from the beginning. “All I care about is reaching people,” he says earnestly at 4 a.m. on the fourth consecutive overnight session while sanitation trucks gather garbage from the curb. “I believe in the power of art, especially artwork that is on the street,” says the more philosophical of the duo.

“What I care about is the therapy, the unexplainable, and the powerful, and everybody in my crew, and everybody on this wall will say – ‘Graffiti saved my life’. It’s so cliché but it’s profound and it’s true. Because it is something that is really universal and it crosses so many socio-economic divides and racial divides.”

Pose pauses a beat, “Guess what, the rest of the world would be a lot better fucking place if people caught on that we are all connected.”

The talented crew. From left to right Pose with his assistant Mike, Revok with his assistant Travis. Props to Travis and Mike for unflinchingly supporting the artists. Houston/Bowery Wall. June 2013, NYC. (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

You can check out the Revok and Pose transformation for free all summer in NYC at the corner of Houston and Bowery.

Special thanks to Travis and Mike, Meghan Coleman, Martha Cooper, Jonathan Levine, Alix Frey, Maléna Seldin, Roger Gastman, and all the great New Yorkers we met on the streets last week.

Check out the REVOK and POSE exhibition “Uphill Both Ways” at the Jonathan Levine Gallery.

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This posting also appears on The Huffington Post

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