July 21, 2005

Le Petit Versailles

Let Them Eat Cake on Avenue C
by Mikal Saint George

The Palace at Versailles had its origins as a relatively modest hunting lodge - a little château of brick, stone, and slate - created by Louis XIII. Enter Louis XIV – the Sun King. A labor of love (partially to himself), he transformed the humble lodge into the most breathtaking architectural feat of its day. In 1682 it became the official royal residence. Few people are aware that the notoriously self absorbed King actually insisted that the palace was for the people and that his home be open to the public. The gates remained open all day to anyone who wished to partake of a bit daily royal shenanigans. Guards only did a routine search of weapons to avoid any harm to the King.

East Houston’s Le Petit Versailles is also a labor of love. A formally laid out oasis of green welcoming neighborhood denizens sponsored by Allied Productions founders Peter Cramer and Jack Waters. Don’t be deterred by fences or gates at its dual entrances on East Houston or East 2 nd Street, Cramer and Waters insist that LPV’s gates be kept open to the public. Like it’s more grandiose namesake, it too was once a hunting lodge…of sorts.

The former location of an illegal auto chop shop, it was better known as the epicenter of the area’s heroin trade. When the Giuliani administration began its infamous “quality of life” campaign, the tiny parcel was swept clean of hypodermics and carburetors. In 1996 an associate suggested that the Allied boys create a neighborhood garden in the space. Ironically Giuliani’s plan at the time created a great deal of strife for established neighborhood gardens. As a result of the property’s former status however, it actually enabled the birth of Le Petit Versailles.

Certainly no two had earned the title of landscape architect more than Cramer and Waters. The artists live in the building adjacent to the garden. And if those walls could talk, they would most likely be with slurred speech and occasional paranoid delusions. “Our building was the shooting gallery,” Cramer nonchalantly recalls. “People would buy it here, there was no front door on the building. People would go up or just do it in the hallway. The other good thing (laughing) they would yell up and they would just send down a basket! It was like being in the Kasbah”

The partners, both former dancers, originally created Allied Productions in 1981 in order to produce multi-disciplined, multi-oriented work that would not be traditionally supported by the masses. Their stated purpose is to promote the arts – not in any particular field or specific artist or art form. True to the artistic pioneering spirit embedded in the very mortar of their neighborhood, the duo was seeking independence and freedom from reliance on other organizations.

This is also part of the impetus for the garden’s growing calendar of events. Le Petit Versailles is obligated to be open 10 hours a week from May to the beginning of November in order to maintain its status as a tax-free public park (Allied Productions is technically “Steward of the Park”). “Since we have been always involved in arts it seemed logical. It made no sense for us to sit here and twiddle our thumbs for ten hours a week,” recalls Peter.

Performers and artists are mostly found through the Internet and word of mouth. Upcoming events include a film screening of J. Lincoln Smith’s "In Time Falling Bodies Take to Light" (Sunday July 17, 9:00PM) and "The Emperor's Premiere" billed as an Urban/jungle/grunge/drag/sex/summer/hothothot/EV fashion show exclusive by it/EQ (designers Carlo Quispe & Ethan Shoshan). The evening promises “Escorted sexy drag models (who) will reveal more than this summer's hottest fashions!” (Friday, July 29, 7:00PM).

Peter concedes that the immediate community is not yet drawn into LPV. “We are still on the edge of development. Most people in the area leave their apartments and head more to the center of the city in general.” Let’s hope this situation improves. This is a truly a gem in our own back yard!

Le Petit Versailles
Public Hours: Saturday and Sunday 2:00 PM - 7:00 PM
346 East Houston Street at Avenue C | NYC

For a complete list of upcoming events visit: www.alliedproductions.org

Photos: Evan Sung

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July 17, 2005

New Windows Media Center PC

I need to buy a new laptop...something is seriously wrong with my beloved Sony Vaio.

I've decided to buy a laptop with the Windows Media Center operating system installed. I want to see how this operating system works, and I want to experiment with recording TV shows and watching them on my Samsung Portable Media Center player.

I need a little bit of tech happiness after my recent and prolonged visit to PC formatting hell.

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July 16, 2005

Wide Open

by Liberation Iannillo

For the documentary, Wide Open, filmmakers Paul Lamarre and Melissa P.Wolf have taken on the monumental task of connecting the dots in a story involving an imprisoned artist, a police brutality case and a corrupt prosecutor in the state of Ohio. It’s a frightening reminder that the culture wars are far from over.

Artist Thomas Condon resided in Cincinnati with his wife Kelly where he ran a commercial photography studio. Inspired by the birth of his nephew, Thomas began working on a series of close-up photographs of children being delivered. After exploring the concept of life and birth Condon thought it seemed fit to complete the project with another series of photos that dealt with the issue of death. The combined efforts came to be known as the Cycle of Life project.

Influenced by the work of Andres Serrano, Condon approached Hamilton County coroner Carl L. Parrott Jr. with his idea of photographing the bodies in the morgue, insisting that the final photos would be cropped as to omit any identifiable features. Parrott gave Thomas permission to take photos in return for Condon shooting a new autopsy video for the morgue ( the last one was shot in the 1950’s and autopsy procedures had vastly changed since then).

Thomas visited the Hamilton County morgue on four separate occasions where he photographed numerous bodies in various stages of autopsy. He placed small objects on the bodies that were symbolic to the transition of life such as a key, a piece of sheet music, and a ladder, representing something that had not only been climbed, but something that needed to be climbed. His goal was to soften the concept of death and portray a more positive message.

The first sign of trouble came when the vice squad raided Thomas Condon’s studio. Upon seeing the contents of the film, an employee at the photo lab where Condon normally had his film developed called the police. They tore the studio apart expecting to find bodies stashed away somewhere. The police ignited a storm of controversy and a string of unfortunate events when they released Condon’s photographs to the media along with other standard autopsy photos that were not even taken by the artist.

Since Condon never got to see the photographs, he had no chance to crop them as he intended and some families saw raw images of their deceased loved ones as morgue corpses. One particular photo, an image that Condon didn’t shoot, was of a man who had been accidentally killed by a front loader, a vehicle which picks up dumpsters. The lawyers in the case forced the wife of the victim to go to the prosecutor’s office to view the photo as a way of getting her involved with a civil suit against Thomas and the county. The woman, who was already suicidal, checked herself into a hospital after seeing the photos and later committed suicide.

Thinking that Carl L. Parrott Jr. would speak up and explain the situation to both the police and the media, Condon was horrified to hear Parrott publicly state that he had no idea the photographing took place. In fact the prosecutors sided with the coroner in an effort to spare the County charges of any wrongdoing. In the end it turns out that the Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen told Parrott that families did not necessarily have to be notified before the bodies of their loved ones were photographed or videotaped at the morgue but this crucial piece of evidence wasn’t allowed in court on a technicality.

Condon was represented by H. Louis Sirkin who had won the Mapplethorpe case 10 years earlier. Sirkin’s defense was built around the fact Condon was an artist and therefore cannot be judged because the art was not finished. It was a poor strategy and Condon was sentenced to 2 ½ years in the state penitentiary. This circus was just the type of distraction that officials needed to prevent the people from becoming familiar with the name Roger Owensby Jr.

On November 7th, 2000, Roger Owensby Jr. was murdered by five police officers who jumped on him in a case of mistaken identity after he left a Sunoco mini-mart in Cincinnati. The police were hoping they could cover up yet another case of brutality against an African American but the coroner in the case diagnosed the death as “mechanical asphyxiation.” The officers insisted that Roger Owensby Jr., a Persian Gulf War veteran, died of a heart attack in an ambulance on the way to the hospital despite the fact witnesses had seen otherwise. The coroner, Carl Parrott Jr. said to Roger Owensby Sr., “Your son was murdered.” It was the first time in Cincinnati history that a police officer was indicted for murder. The indictment against the police came within a week of the Condon morgue photos scandal which made a brilliant distraction.

As if these stories needed more scandal, news emerged that Hamilton County Prosecutor, Mike Allen, was having an affair with a woman who then became a prosecutor because he brought her up. The “family values” guy was then sued by his mistress for sexual harassment in a case where she is seeking to collect 3.2 million dollars. Known as one of the most powerful men in Ohio, the mistress told stories to the press of how she and Allen had sex in his office. Allen, who was at the Bush/Cheney campaign in New York City, had to fly home to do damage control. He was immediately dumped as the chair of the Bush/Cheney southwestern Ohio committee just before the 2004 election.

The daunting task of creating a linear documentary about the cases is now in the hands of the filmmakers. Paul Lamarre and Melissa P. Wolf are currently seeking funding to complete the documentary Wide Open. They have spent 18 months conducting over 40 interviews with people involved with the cases.

Lamarre and Wolf won critical acclaim with their last documentary, The NEA Tapes, which explored the controversies involved with the funding of the National Endowment of the Arts. The NEA Tapes argue that a majority of NEA funding goes to artists who enhance the status quo rather than shake it up.

On The Web | www.wideopenproductions.org

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July 13, 2005

10 Questions With Overspray

Overspray Magazine is a quarterly publication dedicated exclusively to the art of stenciling, and we’re not talking about grandma’s kitten stencils here. Overspray features artists from around the world who are pushing the boundaries of what can be done with a little paint and an immense amount of talent. Filled with interviews, reviews and product recommendations, Overspray provides valuable insight to this outsider art form.

1: How long have you guys been publishing Overspray and what motivated you to start the magazine?

I’ve been working on Overspray since about February/March of 2004 from concept up. It was initially the first international, 100% stencil magazine in the world. There was a huge void with no magazine on the subject and the kids wanted it. We wanted to see specific art in print and have some words reflecting on the culture because there wasn’t anything literary about it at the time. Now, with issue 3 and 4, we’re branching out to cover all street art.

2: Some of the artwork featured in Overspray is really elaborate and complicated, what are people's preconceived notions about stenciling?

You’d be surprised how little people know about what can be done with stencils. People in NYC are still drawing stencils out and cutting out their hand drawn lines because they think there’s no other way. They have no concept of layers, or reverse stencils (i.e. cutting out the light parts and spraying with a lighter color). People hear stencils and think wallpaper, or just don’t know what the fuck to think.

3: With the constant debate over what should be done with public space do you think that street artists are getting more aggressive with their work?

Well, there are those who have become more aggressive about defacing art that has been done on commission for ad agencies. And there are definitely artists who are really strict about people not going over their stuff. Then there are always the artists who enjoy the interaction between their work and the public space and the people that use the public space. I definitely think that people are getting smarter with their technology and modus operandi with the GHOST Squad on the loose and $500 rewards for ratting on graf artists.

4: The label on the can of paint suggests working in a well ventilated area to avoid fume inhalation, but really, are a few huffs here and there all that bad?

Yes. If you can smell it, it’s killing you. The truth is that the fumes kill your brain cells. If you paint inside a couple times with a few fans blowing, you’ll be alright. Don’t make it a habit and invest in a respirator. Besides, you don’t want to paint inside because your place will be caked in a dusty film of spray paint.

5: Your magazine features a lot of politically motivated artwork, from what you've seen, how does the stencil art scene vary from the U.S. to the stuff going on overseas?

Well, to begin with, there’s very little stenciling going on in the U.S. by comparison. The real capital of the stenciling world at this point is Melbourne, Australia. I’ve never been, but apparently it’s just covered from head to toe with stencils. It seems a lot more colorful and elaborate there. What ties these street stencils together though is that people mostly put up one layer stencils on the streets because no one wants to stand around and get caught. In places with no legal walls like New York, that’s almost all you see.

6: What is the single most important tip you could give to someone who is just getting started with stenciling?

Be original. Don’t start stenciling to stencil. Take a photo, or find an old image that means something to just you and stencil that. Don’t use played out images and for god’s sake, don’t stencil Che!

7: Who are some of your favorite artists working now?

In stencils, I’d say Chernobyl, Dust!, Logan Hicks, Peat, Pisa73 and Evol of CT’INK, Slobben (Strok) and a few others. I’m really into other kinds of street art right now, and specific artists. I love Dave Kinsey’s work, Fafi, Futura, a designer called Neuarmy, Doze Green is great, The London Police, New York City’s own ELC and many more.

8: Is it true that Krylon is diluting their paint to make it easier to be buffed? What brand of paint do you guys recommend?

That’s news to me. I can imagine them doing some shit like that though. Above all other brands I recommend Belton Molotow. They have the best colors and the absolute best coverage. Spanish Montana is pretty good too. I hear Sabotaz, a new paint from Greece is kicking ass but I have yet to try it.

9: What can Overspray readers expect to see in future issues?

They can expect a whole lot of wild shit and a new level of professionalism. Really juicy informative articles on people you didn’t know, stepped up design work, tips and tricks from inside the street art world, a lot more photos, many smaller articles and blurbs. More bang for your buck.

We just wrapped a big photo shoot for issue 4 with all stenciled apparel, and the photos are unreal. All our themes for the next 5 issues are really interesting. Overspray will be growing in page count and we’re shooting for full color by issue 5 or 6.

10: In an effort to help Middle America catch up with their stenciling, we're going to be sending a care package over to the designers on TLC's Trading Spaces, would you like to contribute some stencils? I mean, enough with the damn pineapples and chickens already!

Ha! Can I put a stencil of a star fruit in there? How about one of our uncle Pretty Louie trying to tie his shoes? Or one of the Dorito Bandito chowing down?

On The Web | www.overspraymag.com

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July 12, 2005

Clickety Click

I believe in right clicking.

A lot of smart people swear by keyboard macros. Their contention is that they are more efficient if they can keep both hands on the keyboard, and that mousing is inherently less efficient.

I am not so sure. Certainly manuevering through several clicks on a menu [File/Copy] can take longer than the key combination "Control-C". I think the efficiency gain is probably greatest if most of what you are doing is typing in a word processing or spreadsheet program, or if you do most of your work in one program where it pays off to memorize that program's unique key strokes. I prefer to use my memory cycles for other things.

The Keyboard vs Mouse debate is a religious war in the computer world, like the one between Mac lovers and Windows lovers.
Pro Mouse
Pro Keyboard

I think that having to memorize key stroke combinations is counter intuitive and counter productive, even if you have a great program like Active Words to create and manage memorized keystrokes. I believe there is a built-in connection between hand motion and brain function that is better served by mouse motion than by keystoking.

Of course, you have to be smart about your mouse use. One of the greatest conveniences of the Windows operating systems is the 'right click' or context menu. ( Additional reading )

A lot of programs will add entries to the context menu when you install them, either with or without your permission. Antivirus programs will add, "Scan with", encryption utilities will add "Encrypt with", file utilities might add "Open with". Zipping utilities in particular add lots of entries-Winrar added 6 entries to my context menu, Winzip added 4. Very confusing.

Still, I normally allow programs to modify the context menu, because I rely on it heavily, and don't want to lose fast access to functionality.

Lately however I had noticed a significant delay in menu opening in general, and right click menus in particular. This was extremely frustrating, I might wait as long as 20 seconds for a menu to appear. I googled the problem, and found out that some menu extensions can slow the appearance of context menus. One program specifically mentioned was Steganos, the encryption program I use.

I downloaded and ran ShellExView a program that lets you view and modify modifications made to the shell, or Windows user interface. I was easily able to disable shell extensions I did not want, without editing the registry. As with all tools of this sort, if you try it out, do not go blindly deleting or disabling things just because you don't know what they are, you could disable your system.

Some technical information about the Windows shell and shell extensions

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July 11, 2005

Ah the Pain! the Pain

Just after promising our publisher that I really really would be publishing regularly, I descended into the hell of laptop reformatting.

And it wasn't even my fault! (At least I don't think so.) In the past two weeks I have
1) Downloaded & installed the new Netscape 8 and subsequently
2) Not been able to use Internet OR Windows Explorer properly (javascript totally broken, all XML based applications totally broken)
Apparently installing Netscape 8 broke some basic XML functionality in Internet Explorer for a number of people, but on my laptop the effect was much farther reaching
2) Not been able to use business critical applications. I depend on Mind Manager to keep track of my projects and tasks, and as this program integrates tightly with Microsoft Office and is XML based, it was apparently broken by the installation of Netscape 8.
3) Reformatted laptop hard drive and reinstalled the operating system
4) Reinstalled about 50 programs (I know, I know, what can I say? I obviously believe that buying one more software program will bring the world peace love and understanding AND get me more dates.)
5) Not been able to use my Kyocera BroadBand Modem-therefore not able to access e-mail & internet on laptop when on site at client locations with locked down wi-fi
6) Ordered a new BroadBand Modem
7) Realized to my horror that it was apparently NOT the modem, but the laptop hardware that was failing, as no PCMCIA card works when inseted
8) 3) Reformatted my hard drive and reinstalled the operating system,
double checking to ensure I installed the correct drivers
9) Not been able to use my Kyocera BroadBand Modem
10) Reinstalled about 15 programs-putting off full reinstall until I can send the laptop to Sony for punishment.
11) Ordered a backup laptop from Dell in case of future emergencies (someone else at Trigger Tech central will be able to use it in the meantime)

So here I am, resurfacing from laptop reformatting hell, with a two week work backlog.

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July 10, 2005

Jet + Rubble

by Liberation Iannillo

If you live in New York than you have most likely seen the work of Jet + Rubble in the form of giant, Japanimation-like stickers plastered on the peepers of celebrities featured in ubiquitous advertisements that take over the city. The duo refers to themselves as “urban environmentalists,” caretakers of the city streets who dutifully redefine the environment that has been handed to them.

In a period of three months Jet + Rubble applied approximately 2,000 of their signature eyes on the likes of overexposed celebs including Jennifer Lopez, Pamela Anderson and her impossibly hung ex-husband, Tommy Lee. The stickers were a response to an explosion of new ads for celebrity based gossip shows on VH1 and E! Entertainment. “There is just so much advertising that you just have to react to it,” says Jet. “They try and sell Jennifer Lopez as the sexiest woman on earth, well look at her now! It’s goofy! It takes all the seriousness out of the ad and it shows that what they are selling you is ridiculous!” “It was meant to snap people out of the trance they in as they are going to the subway or the bodega,” ads Rubble. “The irony is that most of the posters of advertisements put up around the city are illegal and the act of altering them in anyway is illegal as well.”

Of equal importance to Jet + Rubble’s efforts on the street is their gallery work. In fact, what ends up in the galleries has usually been executed on the streets first. Their subject matter consists of imagery that deals with contradictions; celebrities and disposed of cigarette boxes, airplanes and lost car keys, dollar bills and broken sunglasses.

One of their more intense images is that of a gun with the barrel pointing back towards the person holding it. “People hate that image. The irony is that it is not meant to be a violent image but people assume it’s a gun so it must be bad,” says Rubble. The image is meant to be more an expression of Karma, that what you put out comes back to you. It’s very clever if not somewhat disturbing and when the image is put up on the streets, it is usually ripped down almost immediately.

The irony to all of this is that Jet + Rubble do not fit the stereotype of what most would consider vandals. They are very friendly and authentic in their conversation and at times remind you of your friends who studied hard in school, not the older brother huffing spray paint and wrecking his Trans-Am. “We don’t take ourselves that seriously. We’re not trying to make some profound statement with our work. Smiling is a huge part of our work.”

On The Web | www.jetandrubble.com

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July 9, 2005

Swoon

Swoon, Quite Rightly
by Lauren Cerand

For the careful urban observer, Swoon’s paper cutouts are a familiar sight on the streets of New York. Open up a certain kind of vaguely hip publication these days (e.g. Street Logos, VERY New York, Clamor) and her work is almost invariably mentioned. An outsider artist of a different sort, Swoon turned to the street several years ago to explore a means of expression beyond the cloistered gallery environment so typical of the New York art world. After gaining a following so dedicated that she has her own fan fotolog, Swoon has brought an expanded vision of her magical world indoors for a solo exhibition at Deitch Projects.

An almost ironic confrontation with the essential nature of street art, Swoon’s installation highlights the best advantages that the gallery setting has to offer by creating a carefully constructed experience and layered environment that operates on a number of levels, both in literal and figurative terms. Modeled after a demolished Hong Kong slum, the show opens with a multimedia depiction of a subway car, using both plywood and drawings to depict the typical alienation of Swoon’s people, almost always together alone in their shared experience.

Lost in a teeming metropolis of solitary figures, Swoon’s artfully portrayed character studies are the obvious stars of the show, but the backdrop is no less impressive. In the main gallery, a black constructed structure like an elevated train platform dominates one area while the rest of the space is given over to stacked debris and elaborate montages pasted to, painted on, and strung across every available surface. Children, old people, young people, and a seeming self-portrait of a young woman who is literally at the height of her creative power, her carefully folded hands crowning a tumbling barrage of vibrantly realized images down the back wall, are all depicted here. A pensive young man stares into the distance as a typical city scene plays out over his heart and torso. Weeds and clothesline, kinetic sculpture, pattern and ornament all vie for the viewer’s gaze as it winds through the maze, up and around and back again.

In one of the most compelling portraits, a young woman looks over her shoulder, her back covered in tattoos that variously depict a sacred heart, lush fruit, a delicate tribal motif, and a pair of intertwined lovers. Paper cutouts and paintings of insects, flowers, barbed wire, and solitude also impress themselves upon the viewer at every turn during the experience of navigating the narrow pathways and artfully strewn refuse that characterize the richly detailed landscape of Swoon’s imagination. Swaying gently like a welcome breeze on a hot summer night, objects are suspended from the ceiling using thin but obvious wiring that lends the experience of discovering a forgotten movie set.

The second gallery is smaller but ultimately more memorable due to its slightly more cohesive narrative vision. The floor -- a collage of old-painted doors, and scrap wood – is inscribed with a zigzag pattern in some places, Mondrian in others, and still others bear a careful, colorful check that has a certain pixel-like charm. A paper cut of a rollercoaster in silhouette on the wall offers an alternate skyline, which, in combination with the dominant motif of birds and a group of squatting kids who engage them in the far corner, adds more than a suggestion of the broken-down ambiance of Brighton Beach or Coney Island.

With far too many people inside the gallery to comfortably view the exhibition, or double back for another look, the opening night of the exhibition initially seemed to fail to do the splendid work on display justice. However, on second thought, it was an experience not unlike any daily walk in the city, where a bewitching glimpse of beauty can capture an otherwise engaged eye during a rushed commute. For one perfect moment, that’s all one needs.

“Swoon” continues through August 13 at Deitch Projects

Lauren Cerand is a writer in New York.

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July 7, 2005

10 Questions with Then It Hit Me

For a few years, we have been seeing these posters around L.A. and New York City that read "Then it hit me. I'm not going to be famous. I won't get to be a rock star. I am going to be stuck on the payroll doing work that doesn't interest me for a very long time." Trigger Magazine hooked up with Marilyn from Then It Hit Me to get the story behind the wakeup call.

1. When did "it" hit YOU?

Shortly before ME and THEM.

2. Why Marilyn?

If the wig fits...

3. Do you think the older we get the more complacent we become when it comes
to achieving our dreams?

More disillusioned-

4. TIHM posters are everywhere...what city are YOU based in?

New York & Los Angeles

5. Why is our culture is so obsessed with fame?

Ego divided by fear plus narcissism minus innocence over money times desire equals...

6. As an artist, what inspires YOU?

ME and THEM.

7. Any pointers on "Dream Protection"?

"Protect your dreams from..." (a.) yourself (b.) others (c.) no one (d.) THEM

8. Which celebrity is more useless, Jessica Simpson or Paris Hilton?

Paris Simpson.

9. Do you think "it" (grim reality) hits most people?

Too late.

10. Marilyn's death - The Kennedys or the 'dolls'?

Cover-up brought to YOU by 20th Century Fox.

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July 5, 2005

Wooster Collective

Interview by Liberation Iannillo
Photos by Evan Sung

Wooster Collective is a web site that celebrates and documents street art from around the world. Wooster Collective provides a venue for artists to share inspiration and connect with one another. Wooster Collective is Marc and Sara Schiller.

The Schillers founded the Wooster Collective web site in 2001. Walking their hyperactive Weimaraner, Hudson, throughout the streets of SoHo, they started noticing the artwork put up on buildings and city walls by vigilante artists who thought their message was equally as important as the ad space Calvin Klein would pay to overexpose Travis Fimmel’s hot ass.

Like most people in New York City who lived though 9-11, Marc and Sara looked at their surroundings with fresh eyes. They had a new appreciation for the city and noticed things that most people took for granted. Instead of packing up their bags and leaving the city they loved, they decided to celebrate it, to share it, with New Yorkers and with the rest of the world.

Once a year they offer a walking tour in which they lead groups of up to 150 people throughout the city, telling them the stories behind the stickers on street signs and the wheat pasted posters on buildings. All of this public art, a combination of sarcasm, intellect, guerilla warfare and good ol’ fashion stoner ‘I have nothing better to do with my time, dude’ motivation, is just as important to this city as any might-be-built stadium or eccentric down and outer. The people on the tour vary from stringy, twenty-something, skate rats to the elderly women dying to know who Neck Face is. Sometimes the artists who create the work pointed out on the tour are anonymously part of the group, watching the reactions of people admiring their work.

For our photo shoot we walk down to the candy factory, a building at the end of Wooster Street which has become the Ground Zero for street art. As we get to our locale, we see two teenagers sitting on the steps of the building. “They’re our Wooster groupies” Sara says affectionately. Sara has met them earlier while taking Hudson for a walk. While we do our photo shoot for this story they tell us they are from New Jersey and that their relatives are in town to see a play so they split from their parents so they could “look for graffiti.” As we do our photo shoot Sara and Marc take turns fielding questions about the candy factory and the artwork on it from people passing by who range from young kids to Jersey gangster molls. It’s a perfect example how street art interests so many different types of people.

Aside from their taking full advantage of the Blogging technology Wooster Collective has quickly adapted to the likes of podcasting. For those in need of catching up, podcasting is the equivalent of pirate radio for the MP3 generation. Homemade broadcasts that can be downloaded to your MP3 player so you can listen to your favorite show whenever you want to. Marc and Sara have jumped right in to the podcasting arena with an approach Warhol would be proud of. Sometimes they’re genius, sometimes they’re rough around the edges, but they are always a rare glimpse into a world most are not privileged to. On a recent Podcast, Sara follows artist Daruis Jones. She interviews him while walking through his studio as he plans a new street installation. At times you can’t understand what is being said as he works the industrial tools in his workshop, but most people will never have a glance into in artist’s workshop or an insight to his motivation.

Continuing on with their technological and social endeavors they have started a new project that offers the artwork of street and graffiti artists that can be downloaded to your cell phone. Proceeds go to the Keep A Child Alive foundation. With all the work they put into the Wooster Collective site and its projects, you start to wonder where they find the time.

Liberation: You guys have been working on the Wooster Collective site for over three years now and you obviously put a tremendous amount of time and effort into it. The sincerity you have for the project really comes through. Where does this drive come from?

Marc: It’s hard to describe. We wake up in the morning and I check my email and I literally have over 200 emails from around the world filled with art from cities ranging from Philadelphia to Marrakech. These emails are filled with so much sincerity, passion, respect and love and it’s the greatest rush to wake up every morning and not know what’s going to be in your inbox but know that it’s going to be art. How many people in the world have that? We get it and we try to give back to other people the inspiration we’ve read the morning before. It’s a beautiful loop and we don’t need or want anything more than that. We are aware that most people don’t have creativity or inspiration in their life and we are getting it from hundreds of people everyday and then mirroring it back. That is the one and only goal of the Wooster site.

Liberation: One of the great things about the Wooster Collective site is that it allows artists to connect with each other. I think that is a huge resource you are providing; are you aware of how important that is?

Marc: The best thing that can happen for us is to hear about artists getting hooked up with other artists to collaborate or a gallery to show their work or a magazine to feature them. For us, what is really exciting is hearing the stories of how the Wooster site has helped people make those connections.

Sara: The site itself emerged at a time when the street art community was ready to go online and start interacting with one another, looking globally for inspiration and camaraderie. Many of the people we’ve met are really amazing and the internet has allowed them to connect with each other.

Liberation: I think that this is one of those occasions where the Internet is working for people.

Marc: It’s a little bit of a double edged sword because street art is supposed to be discovered, it’s supposed to be found, it’s supposed to be unnoticed at first. You come upon it and you are blown away by the sheer, unexpected nature of it and the web makes it very easy to experience street art in a way but it’s not supposed to be discovered by the Internet. Then again when you figure 100,000 people a day are coming to the Wooster site and so many of those people live in cities where there is no street art , it’s doing a great service because so much of the art is ephemeral and it was only up there for a day or two. The good outweighs the bad, hopefully it will force people to either go out on the street and put stuff up or discover other people’s stuff. Sara and I know it’s doing that so it’s definitely a good thing but it’s not perfect for the Internet because street art is not supposed to be discovered this way.

Liberation: Exactly. It’s funny you say that because I started doing some stuff out on the streets a few weeks ago and it quickly showed up on someone’s Fickr account and then on a Blog. It’s weird because I only did a few of these but the Internet totally distorts the proportion of the project.

Marc: Let’s talk about that because I think that’s really interesting. A guy like Banksy, who has a world wide audience, he’s got his cred and the truth is how many people are really going to see a Banksy piece on the street? If you’re not in London you’re not going to really see one. All of sudden the Wooster site, the Banksy site, and the Internet are exposing him to millions and millions of people around the world. That’s a good thing all in all but at the same time Banksy’s pieces are certainly best when you see them on the street.

The other thing that could be a negative is that it is so easy to put up a sticker or create a piece of street art and email it to the Wooster site or put it up on Flikr, and for some, they’re expecting fame.

Sara: Automatic entry into this community.

Marc: And what can happen is that it can create a lot of problems too.

Liberation: I’m sure. I think that after a while the people that are doing it once for the fame will drop off whereas the people who continue working and allowing themselves to grow as artists will rise to the top. The crap will just work its way out.

Marc: I think so too. That’s what we love about the Wooster site is that it inspires artists to go out and do more art and to get out on the streets and to think through their work. That’s the best part of it. It’s inspiring for us too, the great thing about Wooster Collective is that it’s not us inspiring other people, it is artists inspiring other artists.

Liberation: Yeah, but you are also providing the platform to do so, so don’t sell yourself short.

Marc: No, we understand. But for us that’s why it’s called a collective. We are very honest on the web site. It is Marc and Sara, and friends that get involved in projects. But to be honest with you the Wooster site is not about ego, it’s not about us. We just want to have fun and be challenged by it. We’re not looking to it for people to give us props and I’m not trying to be altruistic or bullshitty about it, it’s just not us.

Sara: I think that’s where the podcasts emerged from. Marc really wanted to try podcasting and we went out we started exploring it, not caring at all if anyone liked it or disliked it. We love interesting conversations and we love talking to people so we said let’s start recording and see if other people like our podcasts.

Liberation: What I like the most about them is the whole D.I.Y. aspect. When I listened to your podcasts they reminded me of the first time I heard Sonic Youth. I thought it was very experimental, done in one take, if it was good, it was good, if it wasn’t, it wasn’t, but it was what it was.

Marc: Exactly!

Liberation: I was listening to the Podcast that Sara did with Darius Jones out in Brooklyn. You can hear trains in the background, you can hear traffic, and ideally it’s not the perfect sound quality. But it’s a slice of life, of that time period at that very moment, and that’s what makes it perfect.

Sara: It’s so real. I wish you could have seen it. We were walking down the street and we go into his dark studio in the middle of a really old building with lots of history. There is nothing manufactured about that experience, it’s completely real.

Liberation: Tell me about the Wooster Mobile project, how did you guys get involved with the cell phone wallpapers?

Marc: I am very friendly with a guy named Mark Ghuneim and he has a company called Wired Set. We were talking one day and I said, “Wouldn’t it be cool if people could download art from the artists that wasn’t crappy clip art?” We decided we would try it so Mark built this platform for us and we went to our friends who are artists then put it up online.

Liberation: How is it going so far?

Marc: It’s an experiment and it’s going very well. All things are relative. Is it a business for us or the artists? No. But the whole Wooster site isn’t a business so if people enjoy it, it’s worth it for us.

Sara: There are hundreds of people downloading the images from all over the world. It’s not necessarily an artist’s next paycheck but there’s definitely a movement behind it.

Liberation: The proceeds of the project go to the Keep A Child Alive program. How did you guys hook up with them?

Marc: I know them very well. I spoke to Sara about the fact that we don’t need the things on the Wooster site to make money for ourselves. The idea of us making money off of the wallpapers just didn’t sit well with me. So I asked Sara if we could donate our proceeds to a charity and I had been working with Keep A Child Alive and I saw that the money was going directly to the cause. So Sara and I made the decision to donate the money to them.

Sara: It fits in the Wooster site well because it’s inspiring. It’s about keeping kids alive and to me that’s a natural extension of the Wooster site. There all of these orphans… it can get a little depressing, but there are a lot of kids out there who have AIDS. They can live, they just need drugs.

Liberation: It’s terrible. I was watching a news program and they were interviewing Brad Pitt about the work he is doing over in Africa. It blows your mind to think that the six dollars we would spend on a sandwich can feed a small village in Africa!

Marc: Right! And that’s exactly the Keep A Child Alive issue, they’re making it very simple. It’s not a copy edited line created for an ad. A dollar a day will keep a child alive in Africa so for $365 a year, someone will live another year and for us that’s just a very simple thing. I like the cause, I like the people, and I like the impact that it has on people’s lives. If we are going to do Wooster Mobile, we might as well have the money go to things we like.

Liberation: Definitely! When did you guys start doing the walking tours?

Marc: We started them about three years ago when we met Swoon. We had a salon at our house and she came over and she was part of a group that was putting together a small arts festival called the Psy-Geo-Conflux Festival that Christina Ray does. Christina asked us if we would do it for that festival and we did and Sara and I decided we would do it every year in the summer.

Liberation: I did the tour this year and I loved the diversity of the crowd which ranged from people like me to middle aged women who wanted to know more about the street art they have been seeing.

Marc: That’s the way it was the first year.

Sara: The first year we literally had grandmothers, investment bankers, and kids. It was really the grandmothers who inspired us because some were long time New Yorkers and they’d never seen street art so to be able to show someone street art for the first time was really a rewarding experience!

Marc: We live in SoHo so we are in the middle of a ton of street art and people will come over or we’ll go for a walk or somebody will ask us to show them some things. Every time we show people a piece of street art and we go another block and show them another piece, by the sixth block every single person we’ve ever met has been hooked! These are people who are anti-graffiti or they don’t like vandalism, they’re very staunch in a certain way. I haven’t met one person who wasn’t hooked once you tapped them into what is going on.

Liberation: It’s funny how once someone is exposed to something or gets to listen to someone’s point of view, they will take a second look at something that they once dismissed as vandalism.

Marc: Exactly!

Liberation: What other projects do you have going on right now? I know you are doing something with Shepard Fairey as part of the Wooster Collective Special Edition books.

Marc: Yes, that’s part of a series we decided to do, just another project. We love art books as much as we love art so Sara and I decided to reach out to some of the artists that created books that Sara and I really like and work with them to create a special edition of that book. Shepard’s book is the second of the series and there will be a lot of artists involved after Shepard. The first one was a book by Bast, it was great and we sold out in the first week. We have planned it to be about one a month.

Liberation: Where do you see Wooster Collective going in the next couple of years?

Marc: I have no idea. Literally we take it day by day and that’s not a line. Wooster is not business, there’s no business plan, and we don’t make any money from it. Sara and I both have other jobs and we have things that we do to make money. The Wooster site is purely a labor of love. Everything we do to bring in money has a partner. So if we sell books like Shepard’s book or Bast’s book the artists are making money. Every time we make a dollar we buy art with it. We just decide in the morning that we have a project that we want to do and in the afternoon we do it. We don’t have any real agenda.

On The Web | www.woostercollective.com
Photos: Evan Sung

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July 1, 2005

Exhibitionist

by Mikal Saint George

If ancient Constantinople were resurrected as a planet and Cher became dictator, there would be a royal decree that Exhibitionist would plate the Imperial army. Ecclesiastic, Medieval, Gothic and Renaissance iconography is the signature look. The Exhibitionist journey often begins with hand wrought chains dripping from pulsating jugular to secret recesses usually reserved for extreme intimates and / or David LaChappelle.

Just as Michelangelo removed everything that was not David from a monumental slab of alabaster, so does Exhibitionist designer Michael Spirito when he is confronted with a mound of Sterling. Exhibitionist is the result of designer Spirito and partner Sloan Mandell. Sloan started as a trend forecaster before realizing his true ambition as trend setter and benevolent dictator. Michael was the great Oz behind the velvet curtain to other name jewelry designers until he realized his best work was happening at the kitchen table when he was off the clock. Needless to say when the two met the spontaneous combustion was audible.

Fast forward to Orchard Street. A narrow tunnel awash in blue, punctuated by candelabras and a tank full of fish. This is the Domain of Exhibitionist. Sleek, delicate designs that would seem to organically appear. Show stopping, wearable sculpture seemingly made for a museum. Jewels sparkle. Multi-layered, sensuous fantasies of metal and designers sweat demand that you notice, pay attention, feel them. These are the crown jewels of rockers, movie stars, neighborhood gentry.

Not surprisingly, these guys have developed a loyal celebrity following. And we aren’t talking Kathie Lee or Joan and Melissa. Super vixen Gwen Stefani, and H.R.H. Pink, Queen of the re-invent-the-eighties-because-I-am-so much-better throne have both made the pilgrimage to this Orchard Street Shrine… even Avril Lavigne was able to skate her punk princess ass in.

Spirito, with out doubt, has his finger on the pulse of what strong, slightly world weary, but more fabulous-for-the-journey gods and goddesses need to get out of bed and make a meal of their obstacles. It is not simply the symbolism of skulls, crosses and chains. It is the act of making taboos more enticing. Michael enjoys forcing customers to re-invent themselves as the star of their own movie. To transform the intimidating into empowering. And most importantly to remember that beauty is a curse…unless you own it and know where to shop.

Exhibitionist | 177 Orchard Street | NYC | 212 375-1530

On The Web | www.exhibitionistnyc.com

Photo Credits:
Makeup: Bella Makeup Artists
Photos: Evan Sung

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