Hey Hey, Whaddya Say?

                                                       HEY HEY, WHADDYA SAY?

                 Yesterday, I was surfing the web and found some interesting (and humorous) quotes about graffiti. Some are by the graffiti artists themselves and some are not.  I hope you enjoy them! :)

"Some people become cops because they want to make the world a better place. Some people become vandals because they want to make the world a better looking place." -Banksy, Wall and Peace

"Graffiti is beautiful; like a brick in the face of a cop."-Hunter S. Thompson

"Everyone has to scratch on walls somewhere or they go crazy."- Michael Ondaatje, In the Skin of a Lion

 "Grey hair is God's graffiti."- Bill Cosby

"Graffiti is not about clean lines, pretty colors and beautiful blends. Graffiti is my life's turbulence exploded on a wall."-Mint Serf

                                            "I was here but now I'm gone

                                             I left my name to carry on

                                             Those who liked me

                                             Liked me well

                                             Those wo didn't can go to hell"

                                            -The bathroom wall"

                                           -E.M. Crane, Skin Deep

                 "Speak softly, but carry a big can of paint."-Banksy, Wall and Peace

                 " I think I can get into this graffiti street art ."-Lynese M. Spinelli

Shepard Fairey: GraffittiGuru

SHEPARD FAIREY:

GRAFFITI GURU

          You would think a son of a doctor and a real estate agent would have a career in the white collar world, but for Shepard Fairey his future was painted with different colors.

Fairey founded a passion for art in 1984 when he began creating his graphic designs on skateboards and t-shirts. The graduate of Rhode Island School of Design had his first exhibition in 2009 titled "Supply and Demand"which consisted of screen prints, stickers, collages, and works on metal, canvas, and wood.  His mantra of the body of work was entitled "Question Everything."

           He is best known for his "Andre the Giant Has a Posse" sticker campaign in which he augmented comedic images from tabloid newspaper. The  image of the Princess Bride's star quickly morphed into his "Obey Giant" campaign. Originally his stickers were meant to be a humorous idea to his college friends and classmates, but later broke into the mainstream.  

          Helen Stickler, a documentary film maker and fellow RID graduate, made a short film about Fairey and his work which premiere in New York's 1995 Underground Film Festival. The film has ben shown internationally in over 70 museums and festivals.

           In 2003 along with his wife, Amanda, they formed the Studio Number One Design Agency which has produced work for both the film and music industry.

           Even with fame and success, controversy is no stranger to the boyish looking Fairey. He has been criticized for not obtaining permission to provide credit for certain works he has used, and is also  accused to turning his street graffiti art into a self-promoting campaign. In  2009, while on vacation in Amsterdam he was attacked outside a nightclub for being a supporter of President Obama.

          Whatever life throws at Fairey, he is still one of the best known street and graffiti artists in today's world.

My First Graffiti Blog!

 
                                                    My First Graffiti Blog


             Today I watched  Banksy's documentary on Thierry Guetta's (aka Mr. Brain Wash) "Exit Through the Gift Shop" which featured graffiti artists such as Banksy, Space Invader, and Shephard Fairey. What started out as an amusing story, turns into a big pile of rubbish and self absorbsion.

           Guetta is a self proclaimed camera junkie who films EVERYTHING from his life.  Guetta begins following Space Invader's daring antics while they roam from building to building putting up Space Invader's alien icons.  He then films other street graffiti artists from Los Angeles, and winds up in London following Banksy, an elusive, hooded Batman of the graffiti art scene. (Banksy was asked to be filmed with his voice and image blurred to keep up his mystique).

         Over the years, Guetta has a plethora of tapes  and puts together a documentary which he believes is a brilliant film. To Bansky's disappointment, the film is a bunch of warbled images shifting from one to another, making no sense at all. Guetta becomes enamored with Bansky and believe he could do his own style of graffiti art.
   
       Guetta produces his art with the help of other street artist-who he absolutely gives no credit to in the process. The artists fervently work day and night to make his one-man show a success, but Guetta is only interested in boasting to the press what great art he has created. To my surprise, the public adores Mr. Brain Waste, er, Brain Wash and sells his poor excuse of prints for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

      Guetta's delusions of grandeur is downright nauseating as he boast about the accomplishments of bringing a fresh look to Pop Art. Bansky, Shepard, and a few others have a completely different view on his art which Bansky has eloquently sums it up by stating "Mr. Brainwash is a force of nature.... and I don't mean in a good way."