Although the works are stylistically diverse and produced by artists from different racial, socio-economic and geographic backgrounds, a common thread can be found in a shared desire to liberate language in order to transform it, or in the words of Joe Ellis, to “re-arm it” as a means to resist systems of power inherently embedded in language.
The exhibition Re-arming Language: Post-graffiti Artists features screen prints and mixed-media constructions that share a kinship with graffiti culture and its intersections with Hip Hop and Punk Rock music as well as the subcultures associated with skateboarding, comic books, and zines. Although the works are stylistically diverse and produced by artists from different racial, socio-economic and geographic backgrounds, a common thread can be found in a shared desire to liberate language in order to transform it, or in the words of Joe Ellis, to “re-arm it” as a means to resist systems of power inherently embedded in language. For example, the designs by renowned graffiti artist Stephen Powers (aka ESPO) are inspired by traditional sign painting used in advertising, but he substitutes the language of commerce for the language of emotion or witty social aphorisms. Channeling the directness, clarity, and rhetorical force of commercial slogans, Power’s phrases speak of love, loneliness, and social injustice rather than commodities or services.
The label “Post-graffiti” is used to characterize the works in this exhibition because they were not produced on the street, but rather in the studio revealing the ways in which graffiti artists have adapted their writing and image-making to create limited edition prints and one-of-a-kind objects. Post-graffiti works preserve the energy, color palette, texture, and ethos of graffiti yet also open pathways for experimentation and individual expression. Renowned graffiti artist SHOCK UC, for example, is featured in this exhibition with several mixed-media works produced with found materials from an abandoned flour mill. Many of these works bear the expressive and colorful mark-making that can be found in his graffiti work. An additional section of the exhibition will feature selected Blackbooks and sketchbooks from SHOCK’S personal archive as well as strikingly designed zines inspired by the setting of the abandoned flour mill.
Re-arming Language also acknowledges the role of specialized silkscreen studios in the production and dissemination of post-graffiti works including Burlesque of North America based in Minneapolis, and Gary Lichtenstein Editions housed in MASS MoCA in North Adams, Massachusetts. Burlesque of North America, currently run by Mike Davis and Wes Winship, made its name in the mid 1990s with its raw and colorful graffiti magazine titled Life Sucks Die. The DIY aesthetic of this project carried over to concert posters for twin cities music venues such as First Avenue and Bryant Lake Bowl, many of which attained a cult like status among collectors and national bands such as Arcade Fire. Notable brlsq figures such as George Thompson (aka EWOK) and Todd Bratrud are represented in the exhibition as well as brlsq co-directors Davis and Winship among others. The colorful screen prints produced in collaboration with Gary Lichtenstein Editions include bold images by graffiti luminaries such as Futura 2000 and Cey Adams as well as notable figures in the art world such as Bisa Butler and Banks Violette. Lichtenstein is a painter and printmaker who has been collaborating with artists for decades and is highly regarded as a one of the pioneers of high caliber screen printing process.
Featured Artists:
Cey Adams with Martha Cooper
Matthew Bajda
Marc Bell
Todd Bratrud
Bisa Butler
Rosson Crow
Broken Crow
Brownbartbaby
Chuck U
Mike Davis
Jose Dominguez
Andrés Guzmán
Jurne
Leonard Hilton McGurr (Futura 2000)
Stephen Powers
River
SHOCK UC
George Thompson (EWOK)
Martzia Thometz
Banks Violette
Wes Winship
Christina Vang
VIZIE
Anna Sigridur Arnar, Ph.D.
