It’s been a minute since the Big Apple has been blessed with our presence, so we figured the perfect opportunity to make our valiant return was to catch the opening of May Day at Deitch Project, featuring entirely new and original works from Obey‘s Shepard Fairey.
We caught the early trip to Gotham, and after a couple hours of skating, raging and getting our lungs properly blunted, the buzz filling Soho was tantamount to a storm cloud of locusts sweeping through Manhattan. One could literally feel the electricity in the air as the hype surrounding the exhibition brought heads from throughout the world (five city blocks worth of a line for general admission) and we knew that our dude would not disappoint.
It was great catching up with old friends, making some new ones and checking out some killer Shepard Fairey originals. We can’t recommend highly enough that you make the trip yourself to check it out (runs through May 29th), but in the meantime, (click here to see some flicks from opening night:)
Click each image to enlarge in a separate window.
Disclaimer: We are not professional photographers (doye)… and, uh… we hope that our shitty camera skills give you that much more incentive to see the exhibition for yourself… because the pre-show blunts and Boddingtons pints had nothing to do with our aim and technical abilities, swear.
An absolute mob scene outside of Deitch… but nothing compared to the madness inside the gallery.
First Shepard sighting – dude was absolutely swamped throughout the night. We felt just a teeeeeeny bit bad for him until we started hearing bids each original…
Russel showing his hustle. Entrepreneur-extraordinaire he is, Sir Simmons is easily one of the most gracious, genuine folks we’ve had the pleasure of meeting.
We should have commissioned him to take photos for us… Glen E. Friedman, showing some Black Flag hate above, is an absolute legend, and his is probably the only life we would ever trade for. Glen captured the late-1970′s hardcore punk and skateboarding movements in Southern California (and produced the first Suicidal Tendencies album), as well as the burgeoning hip hop scene in 1980′s New York – and that’s not even the tip of the iceberg accounting for his massive, unfuckwithable volume of work.
Lee Quiñones, another hero to The Blogs whom you might recognize as Raymond Zoro in Wild Style, the cult-classic flick that brought graffiti culture to worldwide attention. Along with Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring, Lee is one of the true originators, and it was a trip to see him in the same building as Shepard and a gang of new-jack writers – three generations of street art representing.
The shots above showcase the centerpiece to the collection (and one of the most epic full-walls we’ve ever seen), the May Day mural, incorporating several themes found in much of Shepard’s most recent fine art and street works. Fairey tackles “the reclamation of the American flag as a multi-dimensional symbol, global warming, health care, free speech, activism and the dysfunction of the two-party system in Washington” with this effort (thanks, press release). Click here to watch Shepard and company recreate the mural at the corners of Houston and Bowery Streets in Manhattan, captured at the bottom of this post.
James Newell Osterberg, Jr., better known to the world as Iggy Pop. The Iggster fronted one of our all-time favorite bands, The Stooges, and set the precedent for “punk rock.” The 63 year-old Godfather of Punk is still performing to this day, and dude has shown no indication of slowing down in the least… we nearly stripped down to smear ourselves in peanut butter after seeing this gem.
Blondie‘s Debbie Harry at the peak of her supreme babeness… *hng!*
Another one of our musical icons, Joe Strummer. With The Clash, Joe helped bring political awareness and social activism along with reggae riddims and rhythm and blues to the typical three chord chug-a-lug of punk rock, effectively changing the way rock & roll would be listened to and played forever. Yes, punks, it is okay to expand your horizons – the future is unwritten…
John Lennon and Yoko Ono – we’re not fans of the Beatles. But hey, dope piece.
Singer-songwriter/political activist Jackson Browne. We actually heard someone exclaim, “oooh, look, Joey Ramone!”
*sigh*
Jackson Browne’s predecessor, Woody Guthrie. That machine he is holding kills fascists.
One of our favorite portrait pieces, the god Jimi Hendrix. Jimi forever changed the way guitar is played by-
You know what? If you don’t know about Jimi Hendrix by now, stop reading this blog, go outside and kiss the sky (or a passing 18-wheeler).
“Meet me at the bottom, don’t lag behind, bring me my boots and shoes / You can hang back or fight your best on the front line, sing a little bit of these workingman’s blues.” - Bob Dylan.
We never got a chance to ask, but we can’t help but think that Workingman’s Blues #2 was an inspiration for the exhibition.
The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso – possibly featured after promising full-consciousness to Carl Spackler on his deathbed.
Philosopher, activist, author and Princeton University professor Cornell West – by far one of the most intense portraits featured in the exhibition.
Jean-Michel Basquiat, street art originator, innovator and never-even-try-to-duplicate… or. While he is best known for his neo-expressionist phase, Basquiat started (with friends) as New York City graffiti writer SAMO before turning the square art world upside-down.
Pop artist Jasper Johns, who, along with Andy Warhol, greatly influenced Shepard Fairey’s May Day exhibition pieces. The May Day Flag series below is inspired by Johns’ own work titled Flag, seen here.
A look at some of our favorites throughout the gallery (remember – click to enlarge):
Who framed Shepard Fairey?
As you could imagine, Deitch Projects was sardine-packed from wall-to-wall – we’re definitely going to make another trip to The City before the month is over to (hopefully) get a closer look at Shepard’s work. The Keith Haring piece (below, with gas mask) is definitely worthy of a second, more intimate viewing, as well as the Grandmaster Flash and Patty Smith joints.
Despite all of the attention and autograph-seeking (all requests were happily accommodated), this picture says it all – Shepard was absolutely stoked with the turnout.
Banksy was here (..?)
One hell of a night for us, and that was just the beginning. Six bars, four friends, two blunts, and approximately $250 later (uuuggghhh…), we stumbled upon the Houston/Bowery mural on our way home – great to see in it’s natural element.
