Interesting project about a father, a son and a history making bat from one Roberto Clemente.
Check out the trailer below….
A Drive into the Gap is a true story about fathers and sons, baseball and memory, and the improbable journey of a bat from one of the most iconic moments in the history of the game to the bedroom of a 12-year-old boy.
In the graffiti underground, Piece Books—or sketch books—have been a secret weapon for the mysterious artists who pioneered the culture back in 1970s New York. Reebok explores this history through the eyes of graffiti legends like Cope 2, Erni “Paze” Vales, West, SP.One, Wane COD, Rime MSK, Chino BYI, Ewok 5MH, PEZ, How and Nosm.
Photos Courtesy of Henry Chalfant, How and Nosm, Erni Vales, WANE, Ellen Wattson Foto 156, David Villorente / Chino BYI, Greg Lamarche SP.ONE, Ven AOK, and James SEXER Rodriguez.
I got word on this yesterday but wanted to wait until something more official came through before reporting it. See the info below….
Piri Thomas, a Latin American poet and novelist who gave lyrical voice to the “gente” of New York City’s barrios, has died. He was 83.
A longtime resident of the city, Thomas gained fame for his 1967 best seller, “Down These Mean Streets,” an unvarnished account of racism and economic hardship he experienced while growing up in old Harlem’s rough-and-tumble blocks.
“I feel a profound loss for my father. And it’s a loss for the community, as well,” said his stepdaughter, Renee Shank, 33. “All of his children are so incredibly proud of the person that he was during his life.”
He was born in Harlem Hospital to a Puerto Rican mother and a Cuban father. He fell in with the wrong crowd and was once arrested for armed robbery. He was sentenced to 15 years, and served seven between Sing Sing and an upstate prison….
For those who have never read his powerful memoir, Down These Mean Streets, or his equally strong prose, check out the NPR report that summarizes Mr. Thomas’ life and writing below….
We spread the word on the World Piecebook… project last week, and now we’re letting you know about the launch event for the book this Friday here in NYC. Sacha and Chino have enlisted the help of DJ Treats and the legendary Prince Paul to set things off.
Check out the details below…
Come celebrate the release of Sacha Jenkins SHR and David “Chino” Villorente’s World Piecebook: Global Graffiti Drawings – the third book inside their critically-acclaimed Piecebook series. Copies will be available for purchase, FREE limited edition World Piecebook t-shirt with the first 100 books sold. The night begins with a discussion on the history and importance of black books featuring noted artists Doves FC, Kr.One and Mr.Kaves.
Treats and the legendary and mighty Prince Paul will be on the wheels of steel playing the best possible music on the planet.
Reception:
Friday – July 22, 2011
7:00pm – 11:00pm
At: The Redbull Space
15 Watts St
New York, N.Y 10013
Bet you never knew famed poet Langston Hughes wrote a book on the Caribbean, did you? Check it out, in full, in the photo gallery below, featuring illustrations by Robert Bruce…
We ran into a good friend, David ‘Chino’ Villorente, a few weeks back and he let us know about his new project with writing partner Sacha Jenkins, World Piecebook: Global Graffiti Drawings. The book is the third in a series detailing the work of the greatest graffiti artists. This chapter shifts the focus to the world on the whole, including features on artists representing everywhere from Sweden to Puerto Rico.
Check out some details of the book below…
“World PieceBook: The Secret Drawings of Graffiti Writers” is the third incarnation of the seminal and wildly original and popular graffiti books “PieceBook” and “PieceBook Reloaded: The Secret Drawings of Graffiti Writers” by veteran graffiti scholars and practitioners Sacha Jenkins and David Villorente.
Published by Prestel and SHR Airlines, Jenkin’s imprint, the books gave insight into some of the practices of some of the world’s most well known graffiti artists via the black book, the sounding board for graffiti pieces. Included in the series were PINK, Lee Quinones, KEO, Blade & ESPO amongst dozens of writers your moms complained about while riding the IRT in the ’70s and ’80s.
This time round, however, Villorente and Jenkins take the show on the road by tapping writers around the world including graffiti artists from Korea, South Africa, Japan, Croatia, Israel and Greece, to list a few of the countries represented in the book. Many of the writers are also women and include MOTEL 7, KLOR and MAD C.
Our good friend DJ Asho is featured in the NY Daily News this week, as part of an article detailing an upcoming book on Hip-Hop culture by Queens College professor Sujatha Fernandes.
Check out an excerpt from the article below…
After chasing hip-hop movements from Chicago to Havana, emcee-turned-professor Sujatha Fernandes ultimately found herself most at home in the genre’s birthplace – New York City.
Fernandes, an assistant professor of sociology at Queens College, recounts her 11-year global journey in a new book to be released in September, titled “Close to the Edge: In Search of the Global Hip Hop Generation.”
She traces rapping, b-boying, deejaying and graffiti art in four different countries….
…Ariel Fernandez-Diaz, a well-known deejay and promoter from Cuba featured in the book, also found his hip-hop journey landing him in New York.
“In some ways, I feel closer to New Yorkers who share the same culture and values as me than the Cubans who lived on the same block as me,” said Fernandez-Diaz, 35, who wrote the first article in Cuba about hip hop….
With few exceptions… most of the major slavery novels have been about American slavery… West Indian slavery was so different in a lot of ways. One example: in the American South, even in a state like Louisiana, slaves were up to around, say, 10% of the general population… In an economy like Jamaica, slaves were around 92 to 98 percent, so it was always volatile, it was always violent, every year there was a plot.
Our peoples at F.O.K.U.S. are hooking up another great event in Brooklyn this week, after their success at The Stoop this past Saturday. They’ve teamed up with the Brooklyn Children’s Museum & Ky-Mani Marley for a pair of events to promote his new book, Dear Dad, tomorrow night and Friday afternoon. Check out the details below…
This Thursday at La Grand Dakar, Ky-Mani will be promoting his new book “Dear Dad,” with a book signing, live performance and conversation session with attendees.
7:00pm start
La Grand Dakar
285 Grand Ave. btw. Clifton Pl. & Lafayette Ave.
In addition, on Friday at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, Ky-Mani will be doing a family-friendly reading from another novel “My Little Island” as well.
1:30pm start
Brooklyn Children’s Museum
145 brooklyn avenue at st. mark’s place
Our peoples over at Fresthetic Boutique in Williamsburg are having an event tonight with artist Robert “Tres” Trujillo. Check out the info below…
SS is a series of zines created by Robert Trujillo and published by Come Bien Books. Volume two is called Sew Seoulful and will be shown alongside black and white illustrations from 2008 to 2009. The zine and the illustrations will focus on visual art, self publishing, and ethnic studies.
Should be a dope event; make it out there if you can. Log onto Fresthetic.com for more info.
