jjjjjjjj   bbvvvvbvh

STREETS ARE SAYING THINGS™ :: THE ORIGINAL ONLINE GRAFFITI MUSEUM – Streets Are Saying Things 2006 [January]/MODEL TRAIN

]]> http://saster.wordpress.com/2007/01/09/history/feed/ 0 sternizm http://saster.wordpress.com/2007/01/09/long-gone/ http://saster.wordpress.com/2007/01/09/long-gone/#comments Tue, 09 Jan 2007 06:15:30 +0000 sternizm http://saster.wordpress.com/2007/01/09/long-gone/ ]]>

STREETS ARE SAYING THINGS™ :: THE ORIGINAL ONLINE GRAFFITI MUSEUM – Streets Are Saying Things 2004 [Dec.]/ZU-SAES KT KLAW MISS17 AERO JESSE

]]> http://saster.wordpress.com/2007/01/09/long-gone/feed/ 0 sternizm http://saster.wordpress.com/2007/01/09/redman-back-in-effect-2/ http://saster.wordpress.com/2007/01/09/redman-back-in-effect-2/#comments Tue, 09 Jan 2007 04:46:19 +0000 sternizm http://saster.wordpress.com/2007/01/09/redman-back-in-effect-2/ ]]>

A website called Whereandy.com has taken an altererd version of the template used for these posters and made them available to the public.

John Public has take full advantage of this opporitunity to voice his opinions of NYC take on the recent NYC graffiti movement.

When SASTER asked ‘What started the idea to start putting up these posters?’,
Public’s reply was:, ” I saw an article in the NY Times about the fake subway sign maker: www.whereandy.com. Also I’ve been listening and hearing more and more about KIKO getting 7 years possibly for graffiti and this idiot Peter Vallone Jr. continually using graffiti as his political soapbox and calling all writers “punks” even COPE2 who was legally paid a few months back to do a billboard for TIME magazine.”

[Kiko is a NYC graffiti writer that is currently being prosecuted for alleged damage done in NYC. The penalties he is facing seem to be rather harsh in the views of graffiti writers that are on the inside of the trade.]
Here is our interview with John Public:

Saster: Where are you from? Are you originally from New York?

John Public: From NY. Been here all my life.

Saster: Are there other projects that you are currently working on?

John Public: I’m just trying to get all the lines done with some sort of anti-Vallone / pro-KIKO statements. I’ve only hit the L and M. Lot of lines to go.

Saster: Are you originally a ‘writer’ that decided to make a statement?

John Public: No but I love graffiti. It’s pure, free, and even though some if it ugly as hell, does produce gems here and there that make the whole thing worth it. I feel like allot of graffiti is all about ego these days. Back in the day writers used to do political statement and concepts that go way beyond just their name and their fame.

Saster: After putting up your posters, are you getting any responses regarding your actions?

John Public: Yes. I’ve seen them pop up in a few news stories. I contacted this guy Bucky Turco who seems real media savvy and with the cause. He then helped forward my images to the press. On www.whereandy.com they actually show a bunch of the press stories involving my posters.

Again the whole point of these posters is mostly to raise awareness. We know graffiti can be a problem and allot of it, I hate to admit, is ugly as hell. However, a graffiti writer should never, ever go to jail for writing their name and vandalizing. This city needs a lot of work done and that’s how these kids should be punished: community service, but never jail time. That is ridiculous. You will create even worse criminals and will end up creating more harm then good when these people have to go out and get jobs etc…

Saster: Are there any new posters that you are going to put up? Is this going to be an ongoing effort against Vallone?

John Public: Yes. For each line a new poster is created. Key is that is blasts Vallone and more importantly brings public awareness to the sentences dished out to convicted graffiti writers and other street artisans.

Saster: Do you think that the MTA is aware of your posters? Have there been any contacts from the MTA?

John Public: The MTA is def. aware of the posters. In some of the articles they mention not being thrilled about them. Check www.whereandy.com

Saster: What borough do you rep?

John Public: I love ‘em all, well, except for Staten Island kind of, I don’t fuck with no ferries.

Saster: The posters that you have created look like the real thing. Do you have a graphic design background?

John Public: Nah. although I do have some art direction and stuff under my belt. And although I would love to take credit for the whole poster design I just fill in the blanks, literally. It was the dude over at www.whereandy.com that created the dynamic PDF program so everyone can make their own posters. You should try it out. I love that he created that program. You can even pick what line and all sorts of other stuff. I hope other people will be putting these shits up too. It seems like a real good eye catcher medium.

The posters are quite convincing when viewed at first glance, so please make sure you clearly follow the instructions posted..and watch the closing doors.

Archer, from the Lower East Side of Manhattan, has been involved in the graff form for quite some time. He has a great history growing up in the historic part of Manhattan, and is affiliated with some of the top graff crews. Archer on a mission decided to make a trip over to Croatia and bring a digital camera along, not really knowing what his camera subject might be. To his amazement, he found that there was something big going on in Croatia…. Graffiti.

	TRAIN STATION GRAFF [CROATIA - ARCHER]

“I flew into Zagreb Croatia two weeks ago.”,Archer said. “The people are very nice there and the city is being bombed with impunity. The stuff we saw here in NYC [back] in the 1980’s is what’s happening out there now. The old trollies are killed, but the new ones they got now, I think are being guarded, and there aint even a scratch on them.”

We all know that there is a graff explosion happening at the moment, but it isn’t easy to get to see where the from has arrived in the world.

So good thing Archer brought the digi, and was able to share this with us.

“Their trains had fucking nice shit on them. You can even walk the tracks in some places and no one will mess with you. Train stations were killed end to end with everything. Burners, throwies and tags everywhere that they could fit them into.”

It isn’t hard for Archer to describe what it felt like.
“Yo! It felt so good to walk those streets with all that graff around me. They [are] doing their thing out there without a doubt. I bought a new Olympus 7.1 mega pixel camera for my trip, with 512 megz.” Archer explains.

	CHUCK [CROATIA]

Archer not only took the opportunity to go to Croatia, but he also obliged himself to join in on the painting. Explaining how it was to get paint in the country, Archer stayed focused on his mission.
“ I bought my paint at their paint stores. They don’t have Home Depot type stores out there, or even a general hardware store like we do here in the States. Everyone specializes in their product. If you sell paint, that’s all you sell. If you sell tools, that’s all you sell. Kind of weird, but that’s how it is in Zagreb. Took me a minute to figure it out when I asked people for a hardware store and they looked at me with a blank expression. You have to be specific out there, or you will be walking in circles and wasting precious time.”

	PESCENICU [CROATIA]

Coffee is key in Croatia, as it is in most of Europe, and Archer indulged in this as well.
After doing so, Archer [walking the streets wired on cappachino] visited some of the tougher neighborhoods in the area.
The neighborhoods are ruff and NYC project like but smaller with tin roof construction.

	THIS [CROATIA]

“Bad looks were exchanged”, but nothing deterred Archer. He just held his own and continued his mission through the roughneck environment. “I noticed the names form crews out there were a bit odd with names like,’The Evil Boys and The Bad Blue Boys’. Those were most notable.

“But they do share some of the names of NYC writers like Saint, UN, Ze, Oker, and Bingo”, he described.

What was the train system like in Croatia?
“I was hopping the trollies without paying and never got caught, other wise you have to go to a ‘TISAK’ or a Kiosk, and buy a trolly ticket for 6.5 Kuna’s.” It’s our guess that Archer didn’t have too many problems with the local police there either. “I didn’t see any police on the trains” Archer describes,” and the insides had tags in them too.”

	PORN [CROATIA]

“The highway intersections, circles and underpasses were destroyed with black and silver fill-ins. I was impressed with the damage they did there. So I asked myself ‘how come this stuff isn’t cleaned or painted over?’ Well answer is, their government doesn’t have enough money to clean it. They are a nation of four and a half million people, and most are living below European money standards.” Although it is sad, Archer didn’t let this situation deter him from the fact that graff expression has exploded out there, and it probably is because of their place on the economic ladder.
“Bro, there was SOOO much graff out there, I didn’t know what to take a picture of !!!” This is probably what makes the country so rich in the eye’s of Archer, but not to mention that there was much more to see.

“Croatia is a classic European city that has great architecture from the times of the Romans. There are good looking women that love dancing, and that would befriend me easily… I met plenty of good looking girls…oh, man! “

	ZIPPO [CROATIA]

“The food was amazing”, Archer continues, “ Patte was exceptional and brick oven bread was unexplainable. And the beer! It was six percent alcohol content, and didn’t take much for me to feel it . I was able to visit the coastal line and even was able to go fishing. The fishing is unexplainable!”

Now that Archer is back on the New York Lower ,East Side tip…. how’s he feeling you ask?

“…I’m still six hours ahead of NY time, and I can’t sleep for shit.”

Maybe Archer can sit back and try to get back into the NYC rat race easier by toking on a ‘L’, reminiscing about the Croatian scene. He will be going back!

Thanks for sharing this with us Archer…. Good Night Bro… or should we say, Good Morning?

-Stern Rockwell ©2006 Streets Are Saying Things

	KELROC

	HESA

	DEAM2

SASTER: How long have you been involved in Graff?

EWOK: Graffiti found me in about 1990 by way of tags around my hometown,
and further looking the into Subway Art book that got me hooked, about 91 I was driving to NYC a lot with my family taking pictures of tags in downtown and all the parking lots and especially the highway era, which influenced me to think about straight letters for impact value as apposed to throw-ups that I would look over when driving by highway walls fast. If I was going to use paint I wanted to stand out on a wall of many, instead of falling victim to a bunch of white noise. The str8 letter mentality is still ingrained in me to this day.

SASTER: What are the things that interested you most about Graff?

EWOK: What struck me the most was the mystique behind the “people” who came in the night and left their mark. The other thing that intrigued me was hand styles, and how some people’s tags looked more stylish compared to others. Also, how some people were up so much, but their shit looked like a little kid did it, not concerned at all with making their name look good, I didn’t understand that. I wasn’t really into pieces until I went thru the Bronx in 91-92. I saw all the HARD ROCKS and KD walls with Louie 167, Cope, Sie, Trab, and Dero. Back then; I also saw walls downtown in parking lots like Ces, Clark, and the IMOK guys who had a bunch of lots smashed back then. This was the shit that sparked me to do pieces. I was already drawing shit like comics back then so it only made sense to put a character next to my letters.

SASTER: Are you a NYC native?

EWOK: Nope, and I always get a kick out of these guys who think their dropping some kind of hidden knowledge about where I’m from, like I got some reason to hide something. The truth to all you clown asses is: EWOK was born in New Jersey. Picture that you big dummies… parents divorced around 78ish.I moved to upstate New York wit mom dukes to a shit hole town where I was raised up thru high school and broke out in the fall of ‘96 to Downtown Brooklyn. And I’ve lived downstate for almost 11 yrs now, long before the herbs took over Williamsburg into Bushwick with their spiked belts and trucker caps. So you haters can stop acting like this guy just got here, or that I’m from Connecticut that I’ve heard before, OH, or the best of all that I’m from Connecticut and I come from a rich family, that’s one of the best ones I’ve heard. Pay attention… I have been paying my own rent for over a decade in New York City and that’s longer then 95% of these haters even been writing graffiti. Figure that out.

SASTER: How did Graff get to your hood, and who were some influences in your style?

EWOK: Well in my town I went to school with a bunch of knuckleheads who moved upstate from Brooklyn. Three guys who had dope hand styles back then: FREAK, his brother SELK, and this cat SERNE. These guys hand style where retarded back then. My eyes used to bug out to see them just write normal shit, or even other people’s tags. I didn’t understand how you could be nice with writing everything, back then I thought you only needed to write your name fresh. They were a major influence for me. Other than that, we had freights pass thru so I was doing freights up there back in 92-95 in my town as well as in Poughkeepsie. At the time that was my only way of getting my shit out of the fishbowl I lived in back then. A huge influence for me was a Graffiti jam that went down in Patterson NJ in 1993 where a friend who wrote TED I was first introduced to Louie 167, Masta Ase, Chad, and Cope who was pushing HR hard at that time, Ted was like a “character” painter who painted with Sie and the rest of HR around the time who was going to college upstate. Just from painting at the jam I met KEL5MH, and DOMS KOC, where I was put down with 5MH. And that was in 1993; again pay attention ’cause these are all facts that a lot of people love twisting around.

SASTER: Is 5MH your crew? Who’s down in this crew?

EWOK: 5MH is not my crew, it began with KEL and BL in Marlboro housing around 1990ish, and it quickly became a million little
derelicts running around the ville in the early 90’s vamping kids for polo and bum rushing bodegas with RFC, KST, KGB amongst others at the time.
I was hyped to push it outside NYC back then. I seen KEL and BLAST motion bombing trains and platforms and subway booths in an old Video Graff and when I met
KEL in Patterson I was bugging out. So I was hyped when I was putdown back then.

SASTER: Kel is one of the names I do know is down with your click. Why does he use a name that belongs to an old school icon? Any beefs because of this, with your crew?

EWOK: Ok, here’s the breakdown. KEL5MH’s name way before he wrote graffiti was “KEL” a name given to him by his grandmother, so when graffiti crossed his path as a youth it was only natural for him to learn how to write the word KEL. KEL1st was to his knowledge long retired. I’m sure back then, to a little derelict running around the ville (wildin’ the fuck out, writing on shit, getting into fights and runnin’ from cops) at that time didn’t give a fuck or even had any thought to Kel’s 1st’s legacy. And probably didn’t think he would ever continue thru life writing KEL5MH and ending up what he is today. KEL5MH definitely did street damage. You cannot front on the 5MH’s second coming that happened from ’98-2001. If you were in New York and not retired, you’d seen shit smashed everywhere.

Don’t front like you didn’t see it! More respectfully, I know for a fact KEL5MH has NEVER once tried to claim any credit for what KEL1st has done for the scene. Kel1st is a cool brother that I’ve met on a numerous occasion, and we share mutual friends. Not once did he ever bring up anything concerning my man. It’s always silly to see people, whom not even involved, act concerned and talking all types of caca. The people involved don’t even make it an issue, the same with this East, West bullshit. Everyone loves making a soap opera out of it, but you got heads like Frame from L.A. cool with KET and GHOST, and I’m down with some L.A. people as well. On numerous occasions, they show New Yorker’s respect the same way we show Frame respect. It’s only when people come from out of town and don’t know how to conduct themselves properly that they catch slack from New York. Everyone wants to be involved somehow, even if it’s only on a fan level. So, anyways… KEL5MH has ALWAYS placed a 5MH after his name to be blatant about his identity; in the same way someone would put a number after their tag to not be confused with someone else with the same name. I got the same issue, and all I ever hear is everyone else gossiping for pages and pages on these websites about it, yo give it a rest. The problem is, people’s lives are so boring that they live through others by picking a [person’s] side. Starting arguments and rooting for a winner like a sports fan.

SASTER: You have done many major productions and works, but have you ever gotten involved in the clean train movement?

EWOK: I’ve done it to do it just as any real writer would have to do so. Plenty of insides, caught motions and bombed outsides with paint, but no pieces to date. Post 9-11 isn’t my idea of a place to play around on MTA property. Especially with the snitch factor in full effect these days. Maybe you’ve noticed there are not many pix of anything I’ve done on trains on the Internet. These pictures aren’t even in my house anymore, after what I went thru a few years ago I don’t have anything like that in my crib anymore, that’s my rule number 1. My homies know what I’ve done, but I’m not out to flaunt my shit. I know what I got under my belt and I’m cool with that, for now.
This shit will surface one day when I put out a book and slow my roll but for now I’m not trying to set myself up and just hand out freebies for “the boys” to put a new file together. They already had a folder of all my shit with better flicks then I had back in 2001.

SASTER: All writers have their own circle, who’s in yours?

EWOK: Not really my thing to name drop. Any one who pays attention can see who I’m loyal to and who’s just been my acquaintances, but I’ll tell you this… of the actual “graffiti writers” I roll steady with, I can count them all on one hand. Life is much simpler that way.

SASTER: Are there any mediums you might be working on that are different than painting? What’s the next level for you?

EWOK: Anyone who’s met me or seen my work has to know I’m a workaholic. I’m always messing with something. If its nice weather out, I’ll paint outdoors, anywhere I can. If it’s cold, I’ll spend a lot of time on the computer or painting canvases for some of the private collectors I’ve accumulated over the years. My most recent venture is into the toy realm, which brings my name into a completely new fan base, which ultimately leads back to more buyers interested, in my work on a canvas. The same goes for the sneaker crowd. I’ve done a few sneaker projects, one of those was a very limited release last year with DKNY. I have another deal being worked out as we speak with another company. If I get what I’m asking for, it’ll be another homerun for the kid. Something else for them to talk about.

SASTER: Where have your travels been?

EWOK: Well, after my court run-ins a few years ago, the only way I could write on shit without a knock on my door was to travel. So basically, I’ve been all over the U.S., Seattle, and Los Angeles over 10 times. I’ve street bombed Frisco for 11 nights straight with KEL5MH on a west coast tour a few yrs ago. I have been to St.Louis, Connecticut, Jersey, Miami, Boston, Atlanta, and Los Vegas. Overseas I’ve been to Indonesia, Tokyo Japan, Hong Kong, and Puerto Rico on three separate trips, and most recently Vera Cruz Mexico.

SASTER: What countries do you really feel and why?

EWOK: I love all countries. It charges my batteries to go someplace new. I just can’t help it. I go out as much as I can until I feel like I’ve accomplished something there, then I settle down. I’ve seen other New Yorker’s out on my travels up in the strangest places, like
KET and Sento in Puerto Rico, MQue,REHAB,SABE and JEST in Japan. I’ve gotten a lot of feedback from writers who’ve traveled in my footsteps and seen my shit as well. It’s been like the next step for me I feel like when I travel.

SASTER: What would you like to see more of in the Graff game?

EWOK: Personally, I would love to see the gates not get buffed anymore on major Ave’s. That’s the worst. NYC’s history getting wiped away overnight by some freelance buff team catching funding from the city. And of course the clean train movement to come back but that’s a given… Oh, and less ignorance in the New York scene. There’s a lot of ego coming from people who never did shit, and continue to not do shit, but manage to have some almighty opinion which they think means something behind these screen names. Ya’ll need to know your place in the scheme of things, and stay in the backseat where ya’ll belong…and stop trying to tell people how to drive.

SASTER: Do you like Street Art?

EWOK: Nope. It’s corny bandwagon horseshit. This shit moved into New York when the first two stops of the L train turned into the world’s worst fashion show. All these stupid trendoid clowns need to move onto another subculture. Especially when they blasting right over historic tags and tags from people who’ve passed away. The only cat who gets a pass from me is OBEY. I first seen his Andre the Giant heads back in the early 90’s when the Cross Bronx caught the Red buff. There were these stencils from the city that said, “THIS AREA
IS NOW UNDER VIDEO SURVEILANCE”. These were done around the city about every 400 feet, and right under it was this Andre the Giant stencil. From that point on, it was everywhere, so again this was WAYYYYYYYYY before the hipsters found out graffiti was cool. That’s why homie gets a pass from me, ‘cause he’s been around this long and dude never claimed to be a graffiti writer. He knows his place in the scene, and is a humble dude on top of it.

SASTER: How is business doing with you at the moment? Are you still working on gear?

EWOK: Pay attention…. Business is booming! Put your stocks into EWOK 5MH yall, for real, I have more work then I can handle. As for gear I’m the senior designer with SCIFEN.

SASTER: I know you were working with Ecko for a minute. How did that treat you?

EWOK: I learned a lot about the industry back then… you could say that much. Raven from 12 oz. Prophet vouched for me and put my portfolio into Marc’s hands, the next day I had a job, worked on salary for almost two years, and left on bad terms. Since then, I think Marc has tried to make a few good gestures to make up for any bad history. I’d get contacted from time to time to do some random job that their art department couldn’t do, like paint a fuckin’ 900 lb. iron Rhino statue for a few gees. I’d get scooped up in limo and driven all the way out to some auto body shop in Long Island where the driver sits outside all day and waits for me to finish. Then I’d get dropped off back in the city at my crib. Bugged out Shit like that.
It’s the least they could do is throw me a few gees here and there. They’re still using my hand styles and str8 letters all over the place on their clothing almost 5 yrs later. I’m not talkin about a little tag here and there, I’m talking about full blown tags across the chest of a major item, like a track jacket with a matching bottom, shit like that. But like I said I’ve learned a lot about the industry, as well as realized my own worth. I got my stake in a few established endeavors (as we speak) going nicely.

SASTER: Whom have you worked for since?

EWOK: I freelanced for a few years and worked with all kinds of companies. I’m not even going to start naming shit. I’ve worked with everyone! I’m valuable baby! Ha-ha…

SASTER: What is Ewok going to be up to 10 years from now?

EWOK: 10 more years from now I’ll still be swinging for the fences with whatever I’m trying to work on at the time. And whatever it is I’m doing, I’m sure it will still be making grown men act like lil’ schoolgirls bitchin’ and whinin’ on these websites. But you know what? I rather them be bitchin’ and gossiping about me then about someone else. Good or bad I want’m talkin about me. These people who will never meet me in person, but wanna act like they know who I am, and what my favorite color is.

SASTER: Any words to writers out there?

EWOK: I’ll let the body of work speak for itself. I been in this game 16 yrs now, and I’m not going anywhere…

SASTER It seems to me that there is some type of animosity towards some New York writers, is this the case? Or is it something that is being directed at a specific individual?

EWOK: Nah, nobody specific, just chatter. I’m either told about by people close to me, or stuff I read about myself on these sites. Just a lot of misguided hate from people who hide behind fake names, and even worse when sometimes you find out it’s someone who you respect for what they’ve accomplished for themselves. It’s sad to see them try to gain yardage by smearing people they find as a threat, when I’m not even out here like that. I’m directly competing with the world, not anyone in NYC. This is where my heart is. I want NY to shine bright, not sit around throwing rocks at each other.

SASTER: What do you suggest to the kid who wants to get into the Graff game?

EWOK:: Learn your history first. Study Subway Art book, Dondi book, Cope’s book, and T-kid’s book. These are your bible’s to understand letter structure and basic fundamentals, and PLEASE stay in books until it’s good enough to be in public where everyone has to see it. There’s too much toy shit out there already, in 2006 you got toys with more ups then people with style. It’s sad. And most of all, do what you do for YOURSELF, and not to impress anyone else. If you wanna go all city, go all city cuz you love writing on shit and seeing yourself up. Don’t do it to feed your ego, there’s enough ego on this island already.

SASTER: One final question for the time being. Your tag says a bunch for itself as far as style is concerned. Its unique and distinct like many other writers out there. Do you see others emulating on what you have created for yourself?

EWOK: Hmm… I don’t know. It’s a hard thing to say… my E is a Brooklyn E, so I never made that up, but my K used to look like a question mark or as RK9 says, “it’s a rabbit leg!” that has since evolved into something more streamline for speed. I don’t think I see anyone emulating it, or maybe I’m not just paying attention. You obviously asked the question for a reason, so I’ll have to look around more. Now that I think about it, I’ve seen some variations of my K made into R’s, maybe that’s what you mean, I see that all the time, but they don’t do it right, it’s like JA’s tag, no one can really do the top of his “A” the way he does, so it’s sorta like a trademark protection.

SASTER: And indeed, that’s what we’re talking about… Thanks for the time.

EWOK: No doubt… good looks on the shine and peace to everyone who shows the kid love, and even the haterz, I ain’t mad at ya, ya’ll just need a hug hahahaha.

You can see what Ewok is up to on his site ewokone.org