August 25th, 2011 by steveWP
To all the writers in L.A., you will want to see this show! I have been printing up photos for the show, many or most of which have been previously unseen, and since we all know how quickly things changed at the tunnel, I know there will be pieces and productions shown that will be a trip to see!
August 15th, 2011 by steveWP
Many L.A. writers have talked about periods over the years when graffiti activity was more active or less active. There were long periods, for example, when I didn’t bother going by Belmont Tunnel because it was such a graveyard because of heat from the locals, and then suddenly things got cracking again. It will be interesting to go through my files at some point and really break down the difference between years (although it’s a given that I haven’t always been in town, or that it would be impossible to shoot anywhere near a majority of what is painted during any particular month). For example, I have only around 240 images shot during 2000, compared with around 900 shots for 2003. That’s a huge difference.
I have well over a hundred shots from September 1991, so while not everything is worth showing, much is, and so we’ll be working our way through that month over the next bit of time. As always, scroll to the bottom of the Gallery section to see the latest posts.
Enjoy!
Shirlae Cheng-Lifshin and I have a little blog entry on the MOCA site. Check it out.
August 4th, 2011 by steveWP
I’ll be doing a little power point presentation at the Pasadena Museum of California Art tonight at 7pm if you haven’t been to a slide show of mine before. Sorry, I don’t have a guest list. Free with admission ($7 adults, $5 seniors and students).
July 6th, 2011 by steveWP
A few more from 8-91 in the Gallery Section!
June 29th, 2011 by steveWP
I believe I’m finished reposting the older archival shots that were originally on my Myspace page, and have continued a few more shots from late 1992 and early 1993 (Besk, Charlie, Jick , Myte, Veo Hazen, Sacred, Xpress(?)), but I’ll probably get back to a slightly earlier era with the next batch. Stay tuned!
June 14th, 2011 by steveWP
When talking with Dream SMD in late April, he was curious who my favorite writers were. I told him it depended on the period of time we were talking about, and that I never really thought about a personal Top Ten list. I said of course he would be on the list, but also mentioned a number of others, some of which, Swank, for example he was not familiar with. On the other hand, his list was clear: himself, Green, Slick, Risk and Charlie. “That’s it!” he said.
Huntington Beach, May 1992
June 3rd, 2011 by steveWP
Sure sorry to hear about the loss of Dream SMD last week. He was a major inspiration to L.A. writers. Glad I had a chance to talk with him, more than at any time in the past, about who he thought was important to L.A. graff. Also finally met his crew mate, the other half of SMD, Green, twenty years after taking the first shots of his pieces. Glad I knew it was a rare chance to get a pic (4-23-11) of the three legends, Green, Slick and Dream together at the Tempt wall. Needless to say, he will be missed.
May 27th, 2011 by steveWP
If you are a graffiti aficionado in L.A., then you probably already know about the two shows that I’m involved with. But just in case, here is the what’s-up.
The big Art of the Streets at MOCA is very ambitious, and of course controversial. I am glad to have a wall of photos there representing a gang of important L.A. writers and crews.
Next, I co-curated a show for the Pasadena Museum of California Art that features people that started with, and may or may not still be doing street graffiti, but who have been focusing on developing a an interesting body of work actually for a gallery setting.
Both shows complement each other very nicely, so if you have a chance to see them, don’t sleep on it!
May 6th, 2011 by steveWP
I just got this from a friend of mine. If you’re interested, shoot me a notice/contact here or on Facebook.
“I support, and occasionally work at a Vegan restaurant in West Hollywood. They are struggling, like everyone else, and have asked for suggestions to decorate their walls. One wall, is a cement wall painted white, and I suggested a mural. Do you know of any artists that would be interested in doing painting a mural? I doubt there’s any money in this except maybe paint…. The crowds are very cool healthy vegetarian people, and a solid Jewish community. It’s on Pico by Crescent Heights, called Savyon. They’ve been written up with terrific reviews because the food is amazing. It’s Mediterranean but the chef is creative and it’s on the spicy side……good spicy. Let me know. . . worth asking.”