New York City Graffiti - The Destiny Children

New York City Graffiti - The Destiny Children published by Schiffer books

Received this book just before Christams from the good folks at Bushwood books but due to the festivities its taken a while to get round to reviewing this.

So, given that you are most likely a writer and reading this review, what do you know about The Destiny Children? An internet search wont through up much other than info about this book.

So what do you need to know. Well its all in this book and what a book. 344 pages of high quality old school graffiti funk including 480+ photos. Need to know more? TDC hit the NY subway system and they hit it hard.

This book celebrates 25 years of The Destiny Children. The book transports you back to when graffiti was beginning to explode across the globe and was under serious attack from the MTA. The book features the crews work on trains and their transition to walls and tractor trailers.

To give you a feel of what this book looks like it has a feel of what maybe Subway Art would have been had it focussed on one crew. Like Subway Art the book has fold out pages to show full car pieces but there are far more included in here and it gives you a chance to fully appreciate the individual styles of the crew members. The styles are classic and timeless and burn so much stuff that is out there now.

Given that the TDC were active during the time when NY where cracking down on graffiti on the subway system, the fact that they were able to produce so much quality work is really impressive.

As the book focuses on one crew it means it can give an indepth account of what made the crew and each member tick. There are hundreds upon hundreds of quality flicks in this book including many action shots of the crew in the train yards putting their work up. But what really makes this book for me is the various tales told about train painting missions including Goldie’s trip to NY, numerous fight and beef tales and general chat about what the graff scene was like back then. There is also some contributions from other writers about how the TDC inspired/impacted on them.

Personally, this book is a favourite amongst the piles of graff books out there. The styles are classic, the colours are of a certain time reminding me of why I got into graff in the first place.

The book is available in the UK from Bushwood Books and is priced at £39.95, although it can be picked up for £29.37 on Amazon. Pricey for a book? Maybe. Worth it? For a book dripping with style then yeah, its worth every penny.

highly recommended!!!!!

Graffiti 365

Just got a belated review copy of Graffiti 365 through the door. Had a quick swatch and noticed it features Elph (apparently he's from Glasgow!). However, good to see Scotland included in this absolute monster of a book. Full review coming soon.

Street Art by Ket

The latest book from Ket is Street Art published by Michael O'Mara books.

Unlike his other books, as the title suggests, this a book about er.......Street Art. It comes in that familiar old school sized photo album format that they produced for Ket's other releases Graffiti Planet 1 and 2. Something that I really liked about those books and again with this one. It takes you back to a time when you flicked through a writers photo album to check out their style rather than this online biznizz.

Anyways, onto the book and its content. Well, given its title you can probably take a guess and name at least a dozen of those featured without having that much knowledge of the Street Art scene. Thats to say, the usual suspects are all included, Banksy, Shepard Fairey, The London Police, Blek le Rat, Insa, etc etc. Due to the mass exposure that these guys receive, and having seen the same old time and time again from each of them, it could lead you to dismiss this book as a bit pointless. That is until you dig a bit deeper and unearth some of the work by the lesser known artists.

The book is split into 3 categories; Stencils, Paint, and Posters/Wheat Paste.

Now I’m not that knowledgeable in the art of stencilling but from what I can see from the work featured, and im going to sound just like my dad here, it all looks the same. Even down to the fact that there appears to be very little use of any other colours except an obligatory black and white combo! Maybe its all in the finer detail and whatever “message” it is that the artists is trying to get across but its all lost on me. This section covers the well known in the scene and hopefully if there is to be a follow up to this, like there was for the first Graffiti Planet, then we will see some others featured bringing a far wider variety to this particular section (Inca get your stuff off to Ket!)

Now, for me the painting section is far more interesting, covering roller tags, through to characters and some abstract pieces. This section shows a wide range of styles and pieces from both the media darlings down to the lesser well known. Amongst these are a couple of character pieces from Pesimo. And also a couple of freaky as you like characters from lemza.

The paste up and poster section has a few interseting pieces but the stand out for me is when I got to Vhils. Now thats the way to go!! Forget this spraypaint stuff and go get your hammer and chisel out. More a re-render than a quick coat of paint to buff his work. Check him out if you havent already. Brilliant.

I know that the street art scene is not every ones cup of tea but to quote one of the featured artists (Kegr) “one mans trash is another man's treasure”.

Well worth picking up for the paint section alone (and a peek at Vhils work), even more so if you are into all forms of Street Art.

Availble for purchase from 19^th May 2011.

Street Fonts

Street Fonts

I received a copy of Street Fonts by Claudia Walde (the excellent Mad C to you and me) from the lovely people at Thames and Hudson.

On the face of it this book is basically a collection of writers showing off their style through 150+ sets of A-Z of the alphabet. However lets face facts, this book is far more than that. This is a book that shows what graffiti is all about – the letters. It has style dripping off of each and every page. From abstract lettering to handstyles to classic New York inspired lettering etc etc. This book has got it all and there are styles in here to please and inspire everyone.

Normally you see graffiti presented in the form of a name, in most cases there are 4 or 5 letters together. To see a full alphabet page after page after page is an even more powerful image. When you turn the page some of these just blow you away. For example, the full colour A-Z by Roket from Greece, to the simple black pen on white paper of Plaque from Prague.

Each writer's approach to how they present their A-Z is slightly different. Some pull the letters together like a big piece while others isolate them from each other, which for me personally really breaks down their style giving an even bigger impact.

An individuals alphabet is accompanied by a small bio, for example when they started, their favourite letter etc. Some also give their opinion on style and what make the perfect piece. Even if you dont agree with what that particular writer thinks, this at least gives you an idea of where they are coming from which helps to put their style into context.

As with all Thames and Hudson Graff book this is another top quality package. In fact, I would go as far as saying that this is one of my favourite Graff books ever - the only disappointing aspect being that there are no Scottish writers included.

If you have not already got yourself a copy then go get one.

Abstract Graffiti

Abstract Graffiti by Cedar Lewisohn

The lovely people over at Merrell Publishing passed me a copy of their Abstract Graffiti to review. So here goes.....

This is not, as the title suggests, your typical graff book. It covers many areas of what has widely become termed as “Street Art”. This means we are treated to full on paint explosions from fire extinguishers to knitted parking meter covers!

As you would expect from this type of subject matter there are many flicks within the 175 pages. However, this book is more than just a “lets look at the pretty pictures” package. There are numerous interesting and informative interviews with some of the featured artists, as well as others who are linked to the scene. For example, there is a revealing interview between the author and Judge Hardy who sits on the crown court in Southwark, London. This give an insight into the “thinking” behind some of these ridiculous sentences that are being handed down to those convicted of graffiti. Also, the late, great, Rammellzee breaks things down as only he can, whilst System provides an in depth interview into the history of the aerosol can. For me these insights is where this book beats your average graff book.

So what about the work included within the pages of this book? Well, as you would hope and expect there is a wide variety of work from all over the globe featured. Stand outs for me are Delta's photocopied pieces cut up and pieced together over one another, Zezao, who I remember from my old Fotolog days with his two tone blue creations, and Seize's pieces which remind me of some type of futuristic monsters. Some of the other work however is totally lost on a neanderthal like me – ripping up and re-arranging paving slabs?

The book breaks the subject down into various sections and fits relevant work into each. This helps to put each artwork into some sort of context and keeps the relevant styles linked together. This tends to help as each time you look back there is another bit of info, or another flick which you didnt quite pick up on the last time you looked.

If you are looking to buy this book strictly from a graff writers point of view then you may not get what your looking for. If you are looking for something slightly different then this hould hit the spot nicely. For me, what sums this book up and the work included is captured in a quote from KR (the Krink geezer); “I've found over time that you just cant please everyone. Someone thinks that its just crap, thats its garbage. Im not trying to please everyone”.

For me this book has a lot going for it. A well put together package that should have something included within it that will appeal to most. Overall, well worth a purchase, or at the very least a sneaky read over someones shoulder.

Get it here.

Graffiti Asia

Courtesy of Laurence King Publishers, I received a copy of Graffiti Asia, the new book from the authors of Rackgaki, Japanese Graffiti.

Their new book is a diary of their travels through Asia taking in various cities across the continent and the graff and writers that they have come across in their travels. Like Rackgaki, the book also comes with a free DVD which contains some footage of their travels as well as interviews with some of those included in the book.

The authors (SRK) make it clear in their foreword that they are not writers and this seems to give them a fresh and unbiased approach to their collection of flicks and interviews.

Packed full of a variety of differing styles this is a great insight into a largely unseen part of the graff community and its work. The various interviews in the book, and DVD interviews, also give you an idea of how young the scene is out in Asia and the make up and mentality of those contributing to it.

The work included in the book ranges from the street tagging exploits of a Hong Kong plumber (no joke) black and white dubs, full colour pieces and a few trains. Styles vary from the traditional New York inspired to the more experimental works of those working with traditional characters of the Chinese and Indonesian language.

Personal favourites from the book include the works of YYY +NAN from Shenzhen (the great wall of Shenzhen looks like a great spot and would be well worth a visit if your ever in the area) and Slacsatu from Singapore. Favourite flick though comes from Indonesia where there is a water buffalo checking out a writer at work. The DVD also has a great shot of an elephant walking past a wall while its being painted - could come in handy if you need something to reach the top of your letters! For me these two flicks sum up the impact of graff on the world and how it has reached each and every corner.

Overall a great read as well as some real visual treats from a young, experimental and under exposed scene. If you liked Rackgaki then for me this takes that up a notch and is well worth adding to your collection.