NYC Hip Hop Graffiti

Since the dawn of early man, public walls have been used as a prime surface for the creation and communication of ideas.These scribbles appear everywhere from prehistoric caves to modern day urban alley ways and are visible in hundreds of different sizes and styles, colors and forms. One of the most exciting genres of wall art hit New York city in the early 1960's and has been growing and evolving for the last 50 years. Hip hop graffiti and those responsible for upholding the hip hop culture use a vast array of tools (namely the spray can and microphone) to communicate the goals of this movement.

Tim Burton at The MOMA

When I visited the MOMA in New York City this past year, it was the first major museum experience that I had. I was very impressed with the variety of exhibits that the museum had to offer and I found it very interesting. Besides the Marina Abramovic exhibit which I already discussed, there were many other interesting exhibits. My favorite by far was the Tim Burton exhibit. The exhibit included his early childhood drawings and his other visual creations up until this point in his career. It also included paintings, photographs, moving image works, storyboards, puppets, costumes, and cinematic ephemera from such films as Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Batman, Mars Attacks!, Ed Wood, and Beetlejuice, and from his little-known personal projects. It really made me appreciate Burton's work a lot more. He not only creates unbelievably unique films, but he is a skilled drawer and painter and he is the true mastermind behind the unique characters that have become synonymous with his films such as The Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride, and Edward Scissor Hands.

Functional Art

There are many examples of functional art (Automobiles, clothing, furniture) but one that is specific to the sporting world is Goalie mask art. In professional hockey, 95% of goalies have their masks painted. Some only use their team logo, while others go all out and express their creative side by having very intricate designs done. This is a very unique example of modern art. The artist's who paint these masks usually are specialists in this area, with some also painting motorcycles and cars as part of their business. The first goalie credited with painting his mask was Boston Bruins goalie Gerry Cheevers who painted black stitches on his mask for every time a puck hit it, representing the stitches he would have gotten if he wasn't wearing a mask. Since then, goalies at all levels have been painting their masks. Some of the more notable ones since 1971 when Cheevers first painted his mask are Gilles Gratton's Tiger mask, Gary Bromley's skull mask, Mike Richter's Stature of Liberty mask, Ray Emery's Mohammed Ali mask, and Rick DiPietro's Stars and heros mask.

The Art of Hip-Hop

The current world of hip-hop in America no longer revolves around a gangster lifestyle with baggy clothes and hard drugs. These days, it's about style and even art. Many artists like Wiz Khalifa and Kid Cudi use an extensive amount of art for their album covers and promotional items such as posters and t-shirts. Pharrell has even launched his own clothing company, Billionaire Boys Club, that commissions an artist to design unique t-shirts. This puts a whole new spin on modern art.

Courier

I was very disappointed with the "Courier" exhibit at UAlbany. Although I can appreciate art created by typed words, it seemed to me that the work was rather elementary for an exhibit that garnered so much attention. First of all, the entire exhibit as a whole was very visually unappealing. For me, color is what draws me into a piece. Black typed words on a white background is not only boring in content, but there is nothing to draw in the audience. The only part of the exhibit that I found appealing was the video of Michael Winslow making the typewriter noises with his mouth.

Economics and Art

Money is a key aspect of most peoples lives. It is the one element that drives most individuals in the work place. This is important with artists too who survive on their very work they hope to sell. Which has been hard to do in the last two years with our country's economic issues, but art’s value is its capacity to direct our attention to a particular object, image, sound, environment, or situation.

De La Vega

An artist who is very similar to Banksy is James De la Vega who primarily does sidewalk art with chalk. De La Vega resides in Soho and most of his work appears in Spanish Harlem. He usually accompanies his drawings with aphoristic messages such as "Become Your Dream," which has become perhaps his most popular slogan. He has been doing this work since the early 1990's. In addition to his sidewalk art, he does street murals, paintings, and has even developed his own line of clothing. He has an East Village gallery in Lower Manhattan called Galeria De La Vega displaying his work.