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.
FIRST FRIDAYS!
The Black Power Mixtape
Film screening honoring Black History Month
FREE!
THE BLACK POWER MIXTAPE 1967-1975 mobilizes a treasure trove of 16mm material shot by Swedish journalists who came to the US drawn by stories of urban unrest and revolution. Gaining access to many of the leaders of the Black Power Movement—Stokely Carmichael, Bobby Seale, Angela Davis and Eldridge Cleaver among them—the filmmakers captured them in intimate moments and remarkably unguarded interviews. Thirty years later, this lush collection was found languishing in the basement of Swedish Television. Director Göran Olsson and co-producer Danny Glover bring this footage to light in a mosaic of images, music and narration chronicling the evolution one of our nation’s most indelible turning points, the Black Power movement. Music by Questlove and Om’Mas Keith, and commentary from prominent African-American artists and activists who were influenced by the struggle – including Erykah Badu, Harry Belafonte, Talib Kweli, and Melvin Van Peebles – give the historical footage a fresh, contemporary resonance and makes the film an exhilarating, unprecedented account of an American revolution.
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
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.
If you’re in NYC next Monday night, be sure to hit up APT for the 8th Anniversary of Bobbito’s VINYL IS FOREVER party. They’ll be serving up waffles all night along with the tunes. Click the image above for the full size flier.
