"Style Masters: The Birth of the Graffiti Movement" at the Coral Springs Museum of Art

"Black Venus" by Lady Pink 
 

It seems a bit counterintuitive for there to be a Museum of Graffiti, much less a traveling exhibit mounted by the institution. After all, isn't graffiti something that's created in the dark of night on subway trains and walls, often illegally? Well, yes. But in 2019, veteran graffiti artist Alan Ket and lawyer Allison Freidin founded the museum to preserve graffiti's history and to celebrate the way the art form has made its way into design, fashion, advertising and galleries. The Museum is located in the Wynwood District of Miami, an area with dozens of street murals for art lovers to enjoy. It's a fun place to visit, but not nearly as convenient as the Coral Springs Museum located a few minutes from my sister's home. 

"Style Masters: The Birth of the Graffiti Movement" features work by more than 100 writers, or artists. (Referring to them as "writers" became the practice because of the importance of their signatures, or "tags." Yes, it's a whole different language.) It was hard to know where to focus with so many works on display. Still, I came away with some favorites. 

I was drawn to "Black Venus" by Lady Pink before I knew she's a bit of a legend. Lady Pink entered the male-dominated world of subway graffiti art when she bombed (painted) her first train at just 16 years old. Eventually she became known as the First Lady of Graffiti both for her own work and for establishing the Ladies of the Arts Crew as a way to help other women get into world of tagging. The artists became known for their bold imagery and feminist themes. My nephew TJ and I were struck by the similarity between Lady Pink's "Black Venus" and the Statue of Liberty, a monument that has been used to call for women's suffrage rights since the late 19th century. Coincidence? I think not. 

Lady Pink's significance as an artist has been recognized by galleries and museums in New York, in part because she was one of the first graffiti artists to put her work on canvas. How else could a wider audience see her work? There's also the practical issue of creating art that can be sold. After all, these artists have to make a living. Today, Lady Pink's paintings can be found in the collections of the Whitney, the Met and the Brookyn Museum of Art. For more on this trailblazing artist, click here and here. 

With TJ in front of "Untitled" by SONIC BAD 

The murals by Sonic Bad were even more striking than this image, which doesn't begin to capture the intensity of the colors. I was jealous when I learned that they had been created onsite at the Museum. (FYI, they were painted on the equivalent of Saran Wrap that had been wrapped around a moveable wall.) 

Sonic is another graffiti artist who got his start in the 1970s. He's best known for introducing 3D letter styles and transforming letters into characters. He has been involved in the hip hop movement since its early days and appeared with his crew in "seminal" hip hop films that I am shockingly unfamiliar with (not). Sonic is known for his ribbon style of work, which was on full display in the paintings in the exhibit. I had to laugh when I read that he's known for his gangster characters given the attitude TJ is showing in this picture. For more on Sonic and his work, click here.  

"Structurally sound 2" by Augustine Kofie (2013)

I would not have immediately identified the work of Augustine Kofie as graffiti. To me, it looks to me more like an architectural drawing than something you might see on the street. Kofie has acknowledged that his work doesn't follow the rule book for graffiti. But doesn't the whole idea of a "rule book" undercut what graffiti's all about? 

Kofie's style of art is known as graffuturism. It can be made on wood or canvas and often features recycled objects. Sounds like a collage to me. His objective is to create abstract RetroFuturistic visions. Huh? I had to look that one up, and it's a style that involves looking into the past to see how people then envisioned the future. Admittedly, that description isn't overly helpful, but it appears that flying cars and robotic helpers are often part of the genre. If you want to dig more into this niche of the art world, Wiki can help by clicking here. And for more on Kofie and his work, click here. It's super interesting. 

Skate deck by unknown artist

Skateboard decks are a natural canvas for graffiti artists, and the exhibit included a number of examples of this style of work. While New York and Philly were the original homes of graffiti, skateboard art began in California, where skate culture ruled supreme. There's a reason skateboarding is sometimes referred to as "sidewalk surfing."

The exhibit contained ten skate decks that had been painted/collaged by various -- and, sadly, unnamed -- graffiti artists. The art is typically on the bottom of the deck so viewers can see it when the skater gets air. The concept became so popular that the entire graphic design department of skateboard company Supreme was comprised at one time of graffiti artists. 

Supreme's tradition of collaborating with artists continues today. And we're talking big names like Damien Hirst and Jeff Koons. Click here to see some of those designs. If you wonder if those skate decks are collectible, wonder no more. In 2006, a lot of three skateboards with art by Damien Hirst sold for $3,750 at Christies. Just three years later, five decks with art by Jeff Koons went for $15,000. Perhaps surprisingly, that's not much of a premium over what the decks were originally sold for by Supreme. At least the buyers got their money back (less Christies' commission). And for a really crazy story of a $20,000 skateboard created from the palette that was used to restore the $450MM Salvador Mundi painting, click here. But back to the exhibit...

Of the skateboards on display, the one above was my favorite. What detail and, yes, beauty. If you can, enlarge the brown area on the left and you'll find an image of some ancient Asian figures. I wish I knew their story. 

"Style Masters: The Birth of the Graffiti Movement" continues at the Coral Springs Museum of Art through September 4th and is well worth a visit if you're in the area. Click here for more information. And if you're in Miami, you can head to both the Museum of Graffiti and the Wynwood District for a fun day of art. Click here and here for more info on those art destinations. And for my own take on the Wynwood Walls, click here. Get out there and see some art!