Art as Authority
A contemporary, sometimes historical, art, social, political, blog in and around the art world and its artists. Poetry, litterature, commentary, images, music, books, life... Et aussi, un peu de la culture Française et ses artistes contemporains. A place to come to read, relax and contribute your ideas and projects
Art as Authority is dedicated to catalyzing critical discussion and disseminating information about art as filtered through San Diego.
Recent Posts
- Thanks for the Memories
- "R&R" - Doug Simay's Best Picks
- Michael Darling: Head Curator of Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art
- SUSHI Presents Contemporary Lineup Featuring Dance, Music and Art from Around the World
- "Four Seasons of Sadness" - Judith Pedroza & Michael Rothmann
- Katherine Brannock at Sea Rocket Bistro
- Venereal Narratives and other Cautionary Tales
- Soap & Feathers
- 19th Annual Juried Exhibition at the Athenaeum La Jolla
- David Russell Talbott Book signing and art show
Recent Comments
- steve gibson on 19th Annual Juried Exhibition at the Athenaeum La Jolla
- Kevin Freitas on 19th Annual Juried Exhibition at the Athenaeum La Jolla
- steve gibson on 19th Annual Juried Exhibition at the Athenaeum La Jolla
- Brad Maxey on 19th Annual Juried Exhibition at the Athenaeum La Jolla
- Marilyn Mitchell on 19th Annual Juried Exhibition at the Athenaeum La Jolla
- David Fobes on 19th Annual Juried Exhibition at the Athenaeum La Jolla
- Mark Staff Brandl on 19th Annual Juried Exhibition at the Athenaeum La Jolla
Categories
Archives
- septembre 2010
- août 2010
- juillet 2010
- juin 2010
- mai 2010
- avril 2010
- mars 2010
- février 2010
- janvier 2010
- décembre 2009
- novembre 2009
- octobre 2009
- septembre 2009
- août 2009
- juillet 2009
- juin 2009
- mai 2009
- avril 2009
- mars 2009
- février 2009
- janvier 2009
- décembre 2008
- novembre 2008
- octobre 2008
- septembre 2008
- août 2008
- juillet 2008
- juin 2008
- mai 2008
- avril 2008
- mars 2008
- février 2008
- janvier 2008
- décembre 2007
- novembre 2007
- octobre 2007
- septembre 2007
- août 2007
- juillet 2007
- juin 2007
- mai 2007
- avril 2007
- mars 2007
- février 2007
- janvier 2007
- décembre 2006
- novembre 2006
- octobre 2006
- septembre 2006
- août 2006
- juillet 2006
- juin 2006
- mai 2006
- avril 2006
- mars 2006
- février 2006
Life in the Fast Lane - KAI1 in Jersey
I had been in New York for only a couple of weeks and after riding the Greyhound bus in with the rest of the degenerate, broke, and sick masses out from the West coast, the plane ride from SF to JFK was a lot quicker and cleaner than the bus trip from Tucson to California but lacked soul and intrigue. There was no one on the plane to tell me stories about being freshly released from prison for multiple DUIs while drinking a fifth of cheap peppermint schnapps and thumbing through pages of amazing prison art (one of my favorite types of art). The graffiti in NY is an altogether different animal as well. In San Francisco the streets are wrecked pretty badly but no where near the scale of New York. New York has blocks and blocks of pure gut wrenching holy inspirational complete destruction. Tags and fill-ins are living everywhere and the pretty shit is for the most part left for the toys and the old-timers to contemplate. The climate is savage and honest but lacks a certain massiveness which I expected.
Growing up as a little kid in a town so far away from one of the birthplaces of graffiti there wasn't much for us to learn from, only the older guys who were all biting either NY or LA style. The first document to come out for us toys to study was the book Subway Art, which dropped in around 1982 the same time as Style Wars. After that, the nooks and crannies of the world would study these as there was no other OG foundation for learning about style. I studied style pretty much during all waking hours for a good 5 plus years. Many on the outskirts did not really get to learn about graffiti in a true way. This can be witnessed in the plethora of writers who can’t tag, but only piece. more...
GO WEST YOUNG MAN, Go West or KAI1 Tearin' it up in SF - Fresh kills from the front
WHEN you’re really getting your shine on - the haters want nothing other than to dull you. However, you must always respect the haters because they gauge the success you obtain. The graffiti writer and the buff jerk are simply two sides of the same coin.
Writers take great joy in their destruction while the buff jerk bubbles up with disdain as he scrubs a window with mineral spirits or triple coats the façade of a business with thick enamel paint. more...
"PERSONALLY, I believe very much in values of savagery. I mean: instinct, passion, mood, violence, madness." - Jean Dubuffet
Life rarely ever works out like you thought it would. The only sure thing is that the sure thing will always fall through. Change is the only constant; it pushes us into the realm of vulnerability. It sucks to be decimated and have to rebuild. Nothing in life is permanent. more...
KAI1 - LOOKIN' GOOD IN TUCSON
As the Santa Ana winds are burning up beach front property in Malibu, Arizona winds are stirring up (once again) controversy (won't they ever learn that graffiti is ART) by none other then our contributing writer to Art as Authority and good friend, KAI1. Damn we're proud! Check out more below. There's also a lexicon for you graffiti newbies. Article by Ashley Houk and the Tucson Weekly. KF
Tagging Tales
A night inside Tucson's street-art community
The sweet, acidic smell of spray paint surrounded us like a cloud. Two graffiti artists--"Kai" and "Exit" are their tag names--made letter outlines for their bombs, large names and graphics, in a 30-foot-wide wash under the midtown Padre Kino statue. MoreBomb: A bigger name or graphic, often with two or three colors of paint. More
Tucson Crews (so you know what that tag stands for) More
SOMETIMES THE ADRENALINE HAS ME SO RILED UP I CAN BARELY EVEN SLEEP.
I WAKE UP almost daily haunted by dreams and nightmares. Most of the time I can’t remember a thing but some days I wake up drenched in sweat and the dreams are chiseled into my conscious mind. They say that recovering alcoholics and drug addicts often have “using dreams” in which they are getting high and the moment is perfect just like the first time. We all are constantly trying to obtain that which is only perfect in our mind. No matter how futile the chase, respect must be given for trying. Everyone is searching for that perfect combination of something. more...
GRAFFITI - THE INCURABLE DISEASE (thankfully)
KAI1, young graffiti artist from the U.S. joins the editorial staff at Art as Authority (we just keep getting better and better) with his first essay on the present state of graffiti and its incurable future. We welcome KAI and look forward to a long and painted journey with him. KF
Graffiti has infected hearts and minds throughout the world, whether you love it or hate it we cannot turn back now. Wherever there is a blank wall and a kid (or adult) with a can of paint graffiti will emerge. Graffiti is a manifestation of the build up of feelings and oppressions brewing inside of all human beings. more..
Projects
Four Walls Gallery present:
Collecting Dust & Other Things
14 Interviews from artists and professionals living and working in the San Diego arts community. Collected into one volume, they demonstrate the diversity, methodologies, opinions and individuality of its cultural ambassadors and the growing artistic scene.
Featuring: Patricia Frischer, Kevin Freitas, Michelle Robinson, Monica Hoover, Hugh Davies, David White, Kinsee Morlan, Emily Fierer, Lea Caughlan, Carly Delso-Saavedra, Betti-Sue Hertz, Larry Caveney, Doug Simay, and Luis De Jesus.
Virgin "T"s - Michael Arata
LOOK INSIDE
Artists
