By the looks of this blog, you might think we over here at Alstin eat, breathe and sleep all that is recruitment and retention. Every so often we’ll stray from the HR talk and bring you more on some of our favorite things, places and activities that also populate our daily lives.
For me, the only thing funnier than Graffiti artists beefin’ with each other is when the venerable Wall Street Journal covers it. Enter Robbo - a pioneer of the 80′s London Graffiti scene, Banksy – Graffiti artist turned world-famous street artist, and a stretch of wall, under a bridge, along the Regent Canal otherwise known as London’s “Little Venice”.
The bite sized chunk version: 1985 Robbo classically tags the wall “ROBBO INC”, Robbo becomes legendary “Graffiti artist” by tagging the hell outta London with his traditional (time consuming), freehand, spray-painted work through the 80′s & early 90′s, slides into obscurity to be a dad and gives up Graffiti altogether. Banksy enters the “street artist” scene in the mid/late 90′s, becomes a master at the stencil & postering stealth style (quick & easy according to Graffiti artists), exhibits & sells his street art to worldwide acclaim (2007 work “Keep it Spotless” sells for 1.87 milli at Sotheby’s), publishes books, and exhibits in reputable galleries around the globe AND THEN in December 2009 visits the Regent Canal and defaces “ROBBO INC”. Team Robbo and Team Banksy war ensues. The article must be read to be believed. And I thought I was gonna read about the DOW tanking again. Thanks Wall Street Journal for a great piece.
Since we are on the subject of Graffiti, I have to admit I am a big fan when it becomes sanctioned street art/Graffiti. Jane Golden, founder of the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, is a local and probably national hero at this point in her career with what she has done with the program, an organization whose mission is to “unite artists and communities through a collaborative process, rooted in the traditions of mural-making, to create art that transforms public spaces and individual lives”.
Recently the husband and I went on a Mural Arts Tour around Valentine’s Day affectionately titled “Love Letters”, a public art project consisting of 50 rooftop murals from 45th to 63rd Sts. easily viewable from the Market-Frankford El line. Stephen Powers, the mural artist, was born & raised in Philly and became a renegade (illegal) graffitti artist.
Jane, who legitimized the medium IMO, famously gets renegade graffiti artists like Powers to pledge not to do traditional tag & run graffiti but rather develops their skills and artistry into city-sanctioned beautiful works of art that often reflect the spirit of the community in which they are displayed. Powers did not want to sign the pledge but went on to become a famous NYC based artist. “Love Letters” is not only a personal exchange between him and a woman, but between him and the city he grew up in as well.
You can visit the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program website to find out how you can take the “Love Letters” tour, or grab a $2 SEPTA token and take a self guided tour. Be sure to jump out at a few stops along the way and view from the stillness of the El platform- 52nd and 63rd Sts. are good stops where you can see a number of “Love Letter” murals.
Also be sure to check out this New York Times story featuring this and other Philly based art: Art to Make You Laugh (And Cry).
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