I was invited, along with over 100 of LA's top graff artists, to add a page to the Liber Amicorum or "book of friends" for the Getty Research Institute.
The oversized, one of a kind book was just recently bound and it serves as a historical overview of this moment in time in Los Angeles. The cover has an elegant "LA" handstyle by the one and only Prime K2S!
I decided to create my piece purely in graphite like I do in my own sketch book these days.
I also decided to stay away from any of my characters. Letters are at the core of the graffiti movement so that's what I wanted to represent.
We got to actually put our hands on books that were centuries old!
It was nice to see some of the drawings first hand and get a sense of understanding that our modern day graffiti is merely a continuing exploration of these letter forms in art. In 200 years from now, when someone is looking through this book they will be able to appreciate the text based art that helped transform the world.
I also made sure to add my wife and kids names so that they too will live forever in the halls of the Getty.
That day at the Getty some pretty big heavyweights were in the room.
Here I am with Kofie Augustine, Chaz Bojorquez, and Seen.
I don't remember what the book curator from the Getty was trying to tell Seen, but it's obvious that Chaz wasn't buying it! Lol.
Hopefully the Getty will decide to exhibit the book and some of the art from it at some point. That would be the icing on the cake!
*Big thanks to Ed Sweeney who not only conceived this project but invited me and all these artists to participate in it.
The oversized, one of a kind book was just recently bound and it serves as a historical overview of this moment in time in Los Angeles. The cover has an elegant "LA" handstyle by the one and only Prime K2S!
I decided to create my piece purely in graphite like I do in my own sketch book these days.
I also decided to stay away from any of my characters. Letters are at the core of the graffiti movement so that's what I wanted to represent.
We got to actually put our hands on books that were centuries old!
It was nice to see some of the drawings first hand and get a sense of understanding that our modern day graffiti is merely a continuing exploration of these letter forms in art. In 200 years from now, when someone is looking through this book they will be able to appreciate the text based art that helped transform the world.
I also made sure to add my wife and kids names so that they too will live forever in the halls of the Getty.
That day at the Getty some pretty big heavyweights were in the room.
Here I am with Kofie Augustine, Chaz Bojorquez, and Seen.
I don't remember what the book curator from the Getty was trying to tell Seen, but it's obvious that Chaz wasn't buying it! Lol.
Hopefully the Getty will decide to exhibit the book and some of the art from it at some point. That would be the icing on the cake!
*Big thanks to Ed Sweeney who not only conceived this project but invited me and all these artists to participate in it.
