Abstract Graffiti by Cedar Lewisohn. Photo by KR, Berlin, 2010.

Often I find myself asking why certain artists have not been included in a book, but when it comes to Abstract Graffiti by Cedar Lewisohn, the spotlight is not on who should have been showcased but who has been and what they offer.

This insightful, thought provoking, and perhaps most importantly, interesting book, focuses on the increasing abstract nature of both graffiti and street art. Covering topics as diverse as knit graffiti and street training, alongside more conventional sprayology and pop influenced chapters, Abstract Graffiti immerses the reader in a world of vibrant colours, political statements and folk inspired characters.

Beginning with a fantastic introduction and conversation with Patricia Ellis, the book’s main basis is a series of interviews with both established graffiti artists and new practitioners of art based avant-garde practises. Each interview covers a different topic, my personal favourites being with Barbara Kruger, Futura, and the interviews on law with the Honourable Judge Hardy, Sweet Toof and Tek33. Juxtaposed alongside some great photos, the book not only provides an extensive review of graffiti and street art, but raises questions about how you yourself view the highly controversial art forms and their impacts on public space.

Sweet Toof's studio, London, 2008. Photo by Cedar Lewisohn (page 11).

For me, the only negative is that despite Cedar stating that he does not aim to outline a new form of art, at times I feel it does portray it as exactly that. However, I do say that with reservation, it’s more of a slight downside rather than any issue or problem. And this negative is completely forgotten when you start reading the final chapter – a conversation with Les Back, a professor of sociology at Goldsmiths in London. Not defined directly as a conclusion, the conversation provides a perfect ending to the book and rightly so. Les’s clear passion for graffiti and street art comes to the fore whilst you read questions and answers on society, race, and London’s over jealous planning authorities.  Often these topics are not usually raised, or in fact covered, in the usual run of the mill street art book, but this book is not run of the mill, it’s a fantastically written and completely absorbing.

In short, I think everyone interested in art should pick up a copy and get reading. It’s thoroughly enjoyable and I highly recommend it.

Escif - Insiders, Valencia 2010. Photo by Escif (page 158).

More information can be found here on the Merrell Publishers website.

Photos courtesy of Merrell Publishers. By KR, Cedar Lewisohn, and Escif.

In case you hadn’t already heard, one of this years most spectacular urban art events is already under way this month in Berlin. The event entitled Art Monument will see four famous street artists repaint a 46 meters high tower called Bierpinsel which stands tall in the center of Berlin. It promises to be one of the most spectacular open-air galleries in all of Europe. The aim is to create the ultimate piece of contemporary art and judging from what has already gone down over there these guys are not far off . The artists involved are Honet, Flying Förtress, Craig KR Costello and Sozyone – who can all be heard in the video below talking about their concepts and plans to combine their different styles. Other street art names such as Nils Kasiske, Form 76, Keramik, Mr. Nonski, Dave Decat, Dave the Chimp, Poch and Stak will also be presenting their artworks inside the prominent buildings.

For more info and photos please visit Urban Artcore

Photos from Urban Art Core

According to The World’s Best Ever, The Barnstormers, David Ellis’ art collective, has a show at Joshua Liner opening March 18th. Should be really great.

Here are just some of the artists in the show:
Alex Lebedev, Alice Mazorra, Bluster One, Che Jen, Chris Mendoza, Chuck Webster, David Ellis, Dennis McNett, Doze Green, GION, Guillermo Carrion, James Lynch, Joey Garfield, Jose Parla, Kenji Hirata, Kiku Yamaguchi, KR, MADSAKI, Manny Pangilinan (WELLO), Martin Mazorra, Maya Hayuk, Mikal Hameed, Mike Houston, Mike Ming, Miyuki Pai Hirai, Naomi Kazama, Pema Brush, Romon Kimin Yang (Rostarr), Shie Moreno, Swoon, West One, Yuri Shimojo and more.

KR, creator of the KRINK line of inks, is a controversial figure in the graffiti world, but I still generally like what he does (even if the idea of selling paint-filled fire extinguishers is a bit much). Here’s a bio about KR from Current.tv.

Babelgum has yet another street art/graffiti documentary streaming online now. Inside Outside is streaming in full on their site and features artists like Swoon, Zevs and KR. I’m not a Zevs fan myself, so I think they focus a bit too much on him, but overall it’s a great film and well worth a watch (especially since it’s free).

Here’s a clip of KR from the film:

You can watch Inside Outside on Babelgum

What to do with an abandoned old tower built in the middle of Berlin… I know! Paint it! Flying Fortress, Craig “KR” Costello, Honet and Sozyone are doing just that in a few months. From April 1st to May 15th, those four artists will be painting The Bierpinsel tower in Berlin, which stands 46 meters (151 feet) high. I don’t know much about the project, but I’ve got a feeling that it could be something really special. This could become an iconic part of Berlin, or at least, something really cool for the locals. And Just will be there to take photos, so you know that the entire process will be well documented. Check out more on the event’s website.

Here’s a video about the event:

Turmkunst 2010 from webaffairs on Vimeo.

Via Urban Artcore

Everybody’s been talking about KR’s Mini Cooper and this video:

I don’t get it. What’s so cool here? How many times is KR allowed to just drip ink on a surface and get away with it? If I’m not mistaken, KR used to be a respectable graffiti writer.

Aw who I am I kidding? It might not be logical, it might be nothing more than advertising, but that car looks awesome. Too bad they painted all the windows too, it would have looked great driving around.

KRINK, probably best known for their markers designed for tagging, have a new product which may hit the market soon: Fire extinguishers. Writers like Katsu have used fire extinguishers to write huge, and soon any writer or random kid with some money to spare will be able to do the same.

As HYB points out though, these are already pretty easy for anybody to make.

Also, if you’re a fan of KRINK and KR (the artist behind KRINK), he’s got a show at Don’t Come Gallery in Australia.