Guest mikro137 Posted April 29, 2004 Share Posted April 29, 2004 from the pgh post gazette Great graffiti artists made their marks on society Friday, August 04, 2000 Given the brouhaha in East Liberty about the paint-over of a street mural, it's hard to imagine there was ever a time when graffiti artists were too dignified to whine like just another aggrieved interest group "getting screwed" by the establishment. Where I'm from, graffiti artists subscribed to an ethic of subversion and the avoidance of social control at all costs. They were proud outlaws who boldly embodied Bob Dylan's lyric "to live outside the law, you must be honest." They were too honest to be represented by galleries, agents or lawyers. When the cops came across a crew "bombing" a subway car, the graffiti artists had enough integrity to drop their cans and run. They didn't have time to stand around justifying the "artistic legitimacy" of graffiti. The scrawlers who covered much of Philly's dilapidated real estate with no-frills monikers in the '70s didn't compound their sins by dubbing themselves "aerosol muralists." Such pretentiousness would've embarrassed veterans like "Cornbread" and "Poet." They wrote on walls, period! Graffiti wouldn't become "art" until the fraudulent '80s turned everyone in America into a salesman. Coming of age during the totalitarian regime of Mayor Frank Rizzo, I forced myself to read meaning into the hieroglyphics that turned much of my hometown into an aesthetic wasteland. Long before marketers began packaging hip-hop into "lifestyle" bits to accompany feelings of adolescent despair and social impotence, graffiti had an appeal for me that bordered on the political. It may have been ugly, but at least it meant something. Mayor Rizzo was afraid of graffiti because it was spare, legible and anti-authoritarian. When Philly fell under the stylistic influence of New York's "bubble" movement, it became more orate and less urgent, like urban Rococo. It lost its poignancy and became too cartoonish. Decades later, it would become a non-threatening "aesthetic" pastime, like origami. People could then have serious discussions about whether it was "beautiful" or not. My stint as a graffiti writer was mercifully short. I created new "tags" for an established scribbler who felt his byline needed some freshening up. In sixth grade, I had a client named "Blood" who used fear and intimidation to motivate me to design new ways of writing his name. In those days, there was a "Blood " on every block. My Blood needed to stand out. After much nail biting, I designed a tag that was clever, but impractical. It presupposed an ability to draw, which he didn't have. I don't remember if he smacked me for it, but in retrospect I think I would've deserved it. I was trivializing an anti-social act by treating it as something primarily artistic. Blood needed something simple, but distinctive, or the cops were going to nail him. He may have been a shameless vandal, but even he understood the beauty of "less is more" when you have seconds, not hours to make your mark. I suppose this makes me "old school" when it comes to appreciating graffiti. This isn't to say I'm nostalgic for the days of "Kilroy was here," but there's something appealing about graffiti that gets to the point. Most graffiti is terrible. Much of the graffiti along the East Busway, Pittsburgh's de facto graffiti gallery, is mired in adolescent one-upmanship. With the exception of a few "taggers" who can always be counted on to vary their styles, the work is colorful, but monotonous. There is a guy named "Nise" who does good work. He varies his fonts and works in nontraditional styles that accentuate his visibility. East Liberty should give him a wall to play with and stop importing lesser "talent" from L.A., New York and Philly. But Nise is probably too clever to get involved with gimmicks imposed on "rebels" by the Chamber of Commerce. As dubious as their claim to being "artists" is, the men who put together the graffiti mural in East Liberty were treated shabbily. Their work, which was never truly valued, was painted over as soon as the businessmen began having flashbacks of less disciplined times. This is what happens when graffiti becomes too dependent on scraps from the table of indifferent patrons. Next time, the artists should go all the way and sign contracts if they want to be respected by the folks who own the walls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FatUgly Posted April 29, 2004 Share Posted April 29, 2004 Re: from the pgh post gazette Originally posted by mikro137 Great graffiti artists made their marks on society When the cops came across a crew "bombing" a subway car, the graffiti artists had enough integrity to drop their cans and run. They didn't have time to stand around justifying the "artistic legitimacy" of graffiti. who would do such a thing...ha ha ha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ModelCitizen Posted April 30, 2004 Share Posted April 30, 2004 Yet another cornball who fucked with graf for 3 seconds and feels he has some retarded 'connection' to it. This was funny: They were too honest to be represented by galleries, agents or lawyers. There is a guy named "Nise" who does good work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sludgenuts Posted April 30, 2004 Share Posted April 30, 2004 fuck a fucking post gaszeezte and fuck your fucking pointion. fuck graffiti . you guys are a bunch of stupid fucking hooligans.... <3 always sludgenuts. p.s. i love you guys. you make the city beautiful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mikro137 Posted April 30, 2004 Share Posted April 30, 2004 that shit about nise cracked me up. mostly because of my sorta interactionat one point with tony norman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest soneMILWwi Posted April 30, 2004 Share Posted April 30, 2004 old german what ever that is... i will drink it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FatUgly Posted April 30, 2004 Share Posted April 30, 2004 old german.. old german rules at like $1.75 or less for a 40oz...but for an extra quarter you can get some hurricane malt liquor, and that shit WILL make you go blind....hahaha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mikro137 Posted May 1, 2004 Share Posted May 1, 2004 fuck that , king cobra is that smooth ass ish nigga. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suburbanevol Posted May 1, 2004 Share Posted May 1, 2004 Originally posted by chumbawumba http://bl4ckh4m.com/~niser/418tallnise.JPG'> B] that shit is hott.. so clean. respect Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sludgenuts Posted May 1, 2004 Share Posted May 1, 2004 Originally posted by mikro137 fuck that , king cobra is that smooth ass ish nigga. "dont let the smooth taste fool ya..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mikro137 Posted May 1, 2004 Share Posted May 1, 2004 Originally posted by sludgenuts "dont let the smooth taste fool ya..." nigga please. i know all about it and what its smooth taste does to me in the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacemanspif Posted May 1, 2004 Share Posted May 1, 2004 gay http://photos.fotango.com/p/eba00431744f00000023.jpg'> http://photos.fotango.com/p/eba00431744f00000053.jpg'> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mikro137 Posted May 1, 2004 Share Posted May 1, 2004 fuck cliff ronning #7 vancouver cannucks , nhl 1995-7 on sega genisis. fuck him to hell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turners Tea Posted May 1, 2004 Share Posted May 1, 2004 Lol, i've been playin mutant league hockey on my sega genesis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mikro137 Posted May 1, 2004 Share Posted May 1, 2004 Originally posted by Turners Tea Lol, i've been playin mutant league hockey on my sega genesis. fuck cliff ronning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deepsouth Posted May 1, 2004 Share Posted May 1, 2004 Where do we go from here... http://photos.fotango.com/p/eba00431744f00000023.jpg'> I'm Fillin It... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deepsouth Posted May 1, 2004 Share Posted May 1, 2004 cause i don't wanna waste my time... http://img59.photobucket.com/albums/v181/frankyjones/Cnv0048.jpg'> just another victim of society... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colonisms Posted May 1, 2004 Share Posted May 1, 2004 im a mickeys man myself, but when i need some crunk juice i do the 211 steel reserve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyBackFat Posted May 1, 2004 Share Posted May 1, 2004 Re: from the pgh post gazette Originally posted by mikro137 Great graffiti artists made their marks on society Friday, August 04, 2000 Given the brouhaha in East Liberty about the paint-over of a street mural, it's hard to imagine there was ever a time when graffiti artists were too dignified to whine like just another aggrieved interest group "getting screwed" by the establishment. Where I'm from, graffiti artists subscribed to an ethic of subversion and the avoidance of social control at all costs. They were proud outlaws who boldly embodied Bob Dylan's lyric "to live outside the law, you must be honest." They were too honest to be represented by galleries, agents or lawyers. When the cops came across a crew "bombing" a subway car, the graffiti artists had enough integrity to drop their cans and run. They didn't have time to stand around justifying the "artistic legitimacy" of graffiti. The scrawlers who covered much of Philly's dilapidated real estate with no-frills monikers in the '70s didn't compound their sins by dubbing themselves "aerosol muralists." Such pretentiousness would've embarrassed veterans like "Cornbread" and "Poet." They wrote on walls, period! Graffiti wouldn't become "art" until the fraudulent '80s turned everyone in America into a salesman. Coming of age during the totalitarian regime of Mayor Frank Rizzo, I forced myself to read meaning into the hieroglyphics that turned much of my hometown into an aesthetic wasteland. Long before marketers began packaging hip-hop into "lifestyle" bits to accompany feelings of adolescent despair and social impotence, graffiti had an appeal for me that bordered on the political. It may have been ugly, but at least it meant something. Mayor Rizzo was afraid of graffiti because it was spare, legible and anti-authoritarian. When Philly fell under the stylistic influence of New York's "bubble" movement, it became more orate and less urgent, like urban Rococo. It lost its poignancy and became too cartoonish. Decades later, it would become a non-threatening "aesthetic" pastime, like origami. People could then have serious discussions about whether it was "beautiful" or not. My stint as a graffiti writer was mercifully short. I created new "tags" for an established scribbler who felt his byline needed some freshening up. In sixth grade, I had a client named "Blood" who used fear and intimidation to motivate me to design new ways of writing his name. In those days, there was a "Blood " on every block. My Blood needed to stand out. After much nail biting, I designed a tag that was clever, but impractical. It presupposed an ability to draw, which he didn't have. I don't remember if he smacked me for it, but in retrospect I think I would've deserved it. I was trivializing an anti-social act by treating it as something primarily artistic. Blood needed something simple, but distinctive, or the cops were going to nail him. He may have been a shameless vandal, but even he understood the beauty of "less is more" when you have seconds, not hours to make your mark. I suppose this makes me "old school" when it comes to appreciating graffiti. This isn't to say I'm nostalgic for the days of "Kilroy was here," but there's something appealing about graffiti that gets to the point. Most graffiti is terrible. Much of the graffiti along the East Busway, Pittsburgh's de facto graffiti gallery, is mired in adolescent one-upmanship. With the exception of a few "taggers" who can always be counted on to vary their styles, the work is colorful, but monotonous. There is a guy named "Nise" who does good work. He varies his fonts and works in nontraditional styles that accentuate his visibility. East Liberty should give him a wall to play with and stop importing lesser "talent" from L.A., New York and Philly. But Nise is probably too clever to get involved with gimmicks imposed on "rebels" by the Chamber of Commerce. As dubious as their claim to being "artists" is, the men who put together the graffiti mural in East Liberty were treated shabbily. Their work, which was never truly valued, was painted over as soon as the businessmen began having flashbacks of less disciplined times. This is what happens when graffiti becomes too dependent on scraps from the table of indifferent patrons. Next time, the artists should go all the way and sign contracts if they want to be respected by the folks who own the walls. happybackfat here...and i agree with EVERYTHING this person says four years later and the problems worse...well except the some guy named nise comment. yall must admit the fuckin busway is no longer totally awesome. question: why do old heads think they deserve recognition for their efforts beyond the streets, walls, trains, etc.? do you feel some sort of payment is in order for all years put in? well its not going to happen unless you count jail as the big prize but that would mean all your children would be without fathers and your not "hip-hop" enough for that. question: why the fuck would any writer want people as well as other writers to know what they look like or who they are? you fucks are sad...could someone please present the old fucks with their lifetime achievement awards so they can give the final acceptance speech and DIE WITH HONOR. but instead they want the linger and fester like a boil on my ass. i can't wait til the new mag is out. i sincerely hope no pictures from this thread are in it. i will pay any amount for it as long as the proceeds go to the "old head retirement fund". question: why the fuck won't zask improve? it's a fuckin shame that any 15 year old out there does better work then that dude. i mean really, is zask where nsf and csn wants to be right now after all these years? WOW! i see nice end to ends roll only to puke when the zask finishes the car. it's a god damned dirty shame. it's like playing the game "which one of these things is NOT like the other things". he's not gettin any better, admit it and cry. that shit better not make the fuckin mag man. all and all graffiti remains illegal so stop your bitching and stop trying to take graffiti off the streets where it fuckin lives. stop blurring the lines of graffiti and art just because you fuck heads think you deserve recognition for your shit. and in the end their is no big payoff. and that's true, bitches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rize415 Posted May 1, 2004 Share Posted May 1, 2004 there not their. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rize415 Posted May 1, 2004 Share Posted May 1, 2004 metal heads http://www.fototime.com/{0ECFE92A-A9A0-40E2-BA6D-4A09D42FF011}/picture.JPG'> http://www.fototime.com/{5659A27A-0C86-4915-9EFC-6AEBAE639E83}/picture.JPG'> http://www.fototime.com/{CD10EA05-4AD2-43D5-A90C-E58492137A8E}/picture.JPG'> http://www.fototime.com/{EA374092-B14F-4247-A09E-138E03F8B322}/picture.JPG'> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turners Tea Posted May 1, 2004 Share Posted May 1, 2004 Does ne one got ne new onorok pics? I havent seen any new pieces/frieghts of him in a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niseNSF Posted May 2, 2004 Share Posted May 2, 2004 happybackfat if we are 'old heads', what are you? youre clearly way too gumpy to be like just starting, and you keep comparing our graffiti now to our graffiti from before, so obviously youve been paying attention for a while...so i cant figure out where you fit in, like are like in 'graffiti middle age' or maybe adolescence? maybe youre a 'young adult'? i dont know, but boy are you sulky for whatever age you are. sulk sulk sulk. somebody needs to discover girls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teddy Posted May 2, 2004 Share Posted May 2, 2004 question: why the fuck won't zask improve? it's a fuckin shame that any 15 year old out there does better work then that dude. zask wont improve cause he fuckin sucks big hairy ass balls! it is really a SHAME that some 15 yr old kids that have been paintin for like 2 years or for some 1 year are betterthan you. you suck!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeanGulberry Posted May 2, 2004 Share Posted May 2, 2004 yo--my man -- the article is like 4 years old. And I bet you got blow-ups of every dumpster that "ATOMIK" did for Marine Salvage under your bed. Go away to your place of REAL TUFF STREET graff, cause you are way too hard for these guys... they can't even fuck with you and your young crewdogs.:lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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