Art Show in LES
Went into a art show on Thursday courtesy of ZA One who uses the name "Street Killer", he was having his opening reception Thursday evening at Avant Garde LES on Grand Street. The displays was many graffiti pieces ranging from large scale murals to tags on toys. I felt like was in the 80s with the nostalgia of spray cans and markers in black books. I walked through the venue and took pictures of the walls and floors(check out the Instagram for those) looking at the dopest graf pieces I have seen in sometime. Normally I don't go to graf shows unless I know the person who throwing it or the artist themselves. In this case I knew the DJ that was playing that day(was and never showed up) so I went to enjoy the music. Luckily for me I bumped into a couple of people(s/o to Abacus) who at least made me feel like I wasn't a lone wolf in there.
The best piece was a wall piece that look like it covered the entire wall. A perfect tag in different colors and shapes look like something from the space age, it absolutely beautiful. I then try to figure out this element is always neglected when it comes to breaking down the elements of hip hop culture(there are 5 by the way) There is way too many graf artists out here keeping the culture vibrant and fresh. Yes some do it for the money which isn't a bad thing but for those who truly do it for the culture they are the ones we need to preserve and admire more. I stayed at Avant Garde a lot longer than what I planned to which was ok. I at least got to see some dope pieces and relive the youth of a old 80s baby who remembers subway cars completely covered in graffiti. There are some that to still recreate that magic but always get shut down(stricter laws nowadays) In ZA One his pieces was for sale and some was definitely worth the money. There was some sales that some die hard heads bought and even though some was too pricey I understand that art is becoming big business.
While the PBR(Beer) kept me buzzed I kept moving through the small space and vibing to the old school hip hop being played by the DJ. Overall it was another great exhibition in the Lower East Side which is becoming a hotbed for the arts community lately. It seem like every week there is a pop up or a long running exhibition in that area. I just hope it doesn't get too saturated soon. Za One exhibit is still running at 317 Grand Street in Manhattan check it out while it still up.