ARTIST INTERVIEW: POEM 2 WEST COAST
I was introduced to art in general (not necessarily graffiti) from my cousin who was known as “Davie Dee” aka WARPIG in Oakland, Ca. In the mid 80’s. Davie Dee was his up-rock dance name, WARPIG was the art name he went by. He was doing artwork on clothes for the neighborhood kids and I was drawn to the movement of the letters that flowed with the wrinkles and layers of the clothes he rocked. Soon after I tried to mimic what he was doing on my own clothes which eventually led to bombing the city.
Krylon Mystics- An Homage to Ghetto Hieroglyphics
This morning we woke up to a brand-new track from the legendary Nas and DJ Premier — and it’s already clear that “Writers” is a heartfelt tribute to the artists who helped shape hip-hop culture from the ground up. Nas pays homage to the graffiti pioneers and cultural architects who laid the foundation long before the genre saw mainstream acceptance. In his hands, writers and lyricists become two sides of the same coin, united by the urge to leave a lasting mark on the world.
ARTIST FEATURE: VENG
From a different angle then just style, NY has so many years of graff that through exploring has giving me new ways of seeing the city that most dont get to see You can get into areas where tags from the 70s and 80s are still up when the city was different than today and it makes history come alive.
Letter Structure for dummies
Letters are the backbone of every piece.
Not only are you writing your name as much as you can but it needs to follow basic principles of flow, composition, balance etc.
I like letters to look like they all come from the same alphabet. I think in layers, starting with the “bones” of each letter and building them up with armor and weapons to defend and attack. They move and flow like bboy’s in a cypher or fish in a stream.
The Style Savant: SHAN
It all started after moving to Chicago for college, my roommate Dana use to tag a little here and there and she had introduced me to a lot of her graffiti writer friends. One night they passed me the marker on our way home from a party and I tagged my name on everything. After that I got a black book and started actually sketching for like 8 months. I then learned how to make ink and was doing mop tags for a few weeks, someone passed me a can one night when we were out doing mop tags I did my first spray tag. That hyped me up so the next day I decided I wanted to do my first roof to kick off the new year so we went out on new years eve with a group of like 5 other writers to paint a roof top. After that I was hooked.
Powerful Women in Culture: A testament to resilience & talent
Hip hop has long been regarded as a hyper-masculine culture, with graffiti and the wider community fostering a highly competitive and, at times, toxic environment. In this setting, it has often been difficult for newcomers, especially women, to break through. Despite this, countless women have made monumental contributions to the scene, shaping the culture in ways that are still felt today. In this post, we explore how these women have not only navigated the adversities placed upon them but also how they’ve used their talents and passion to elevate hip hop to new heights.
From Skating to Painting: How MEME is making her mark in graffiti and on the world
Today we highlight Meme, a graffiti artist and skateboarder from Northern California. She is the creator of Few and Far, an empowering global collective of women who skate, paint, and support one another. With 23 international members, Few and Far is now a powerful force in both the graffiti and skateboarding communities. Over the last two decades, Meme’s travels and activism have taken her around the world from Cuba to Japan, and she continues to inspire others with her art and commitment to change.
15 minutes with “That Graffiti guy”- JEB1!
My cherry popped in 1989, with my first hollow fill of “Jeben” in Antioch California at the hardly famous Jack-Off wall. It was a spot that was frequented by locals who were just getting into the game. It was a great place to start learning how to spray, a place whose usefulness only came to an end when cops, thinking they got the bust of a century, nabbed a few of us giving us our first taste of the other side of graffiti.
Art Basel: A graffiti writers paradise
It’s 4 AM, and the city is still buzzing as a group of us stand on the rooftop of an abandoned building, watching the small cars and metro bustle below. This is the last spot of the night, and we’ve been going hard since we woke up the day before. I can feel my adrenaline kicking in, sharpening my focus. I step out onto the short ledge, no guardrails to keep me from falling. I move quickly, painting a large crew piece. The chrome spreads like magic against the tile, and the feeling is surreal as I see helicopters in the distance..
Rust-O, The (Not So) New Player in the Spray Paint Market
Rustoleum recently introduced their all-new “Artist Edition” Spray paints recently for public purchase and has been working behind the scenes testing the product over the last year and getting feedback from artists.