ART BASEL AND/OR BUST........!

.....So I'm fresh off the plane from ART BASEL 2010...and I'm happy to report that (STREET) ART is alive and well. The trip was an impromptu excursion to promote our next venture "NOOH CONCEPTS", of which the creative minds behind Gammah Graphix, ARTofJAHMANE, KULTJAH and numerous conceptual paradigms, will produce a line of home furnishings and decore inspired by contemporary interior design with an artsy, global...textural overtone. Not having been to AB (Art Basel) in the many years of it's existence...we felt like now would be a perfect time to see and participate in all the hub bub...

Naturally, as renegade ARTIST's should, we printed up a bunch of mock AB flyers and business cards...set up a website...scraped up some plane tickets...reserved a crash spot and a rental (2011 Cadillac STS...lol) and took to the sky....
Upon arrival, I noticed something unusually different in the Miami night air....and after navigating over to the bustling Design District/Wynwood Art District at around 12:30am...I could also smell it....the scent of aerosol (and barbecue ribs..lol) filled the air as Street Artist from around the globe (shout out to my west coast bredren) descended on Miami like an Art plague of many infectious styles...from large scale murals, paste ups and sculptural work...to sticker walls and straight graffiti burners...




...The first night pretty much set the tone for the rest of the trip...not that I was surprised to see such a strong influence of Street Art on the inner and outer walls of raw, make-shift industrial spaces....to even the foo fooiest...high end galleries...but the irony of it all accompanied us as we partied and politic-ed as much as possible. Unlike the exploits of NYC artists in the early 80's, this wave of Street Art appreciation appears to be firmly grounded...perhaps the influx of suburban "Art" students...or palatable misfits like Shepard Fairy...or even Banksy have somehow made this rebellious art-form that crept from the souls of Black and Latino urban youth more...um...acceptable (?)....or maybe its just time and evolution (?)... I just couldn't help but notice that those mostly benefiting from this evolution are other than that from which this art-form evolved....hmmmm (I'll build on that at a later date).

However, Several shows have sprung up around Art Basel (Pulse, NADA, Scope...etc) as well as multiple events, receptions and parties....and it would be impossible to take it "ALL" in...so our agenda was based on getting a grasp on where we could fit in for an "official" showing next year...oh...and of course...take some time out to hit up a few NOOH CONCEPTS glyphs....
...Definite highlights were...the Wynwood Walls...partying our asses off at the Haiti Art Expo (thanks for the tip Rachelle...La Belle Vie) ...the Mr. Brainwash installation on Collins...a piece by Charles Pfahl ....checkers late night...our Cadillac...dining at Park Central...our local connects (peace Nadia)...thrift store shopping...Walgreens (will)...making good contacts...BIG PIECES ...and inspiration.

Needless to say, I shot all photo-documentation with my phone camera (forgot camera charger) which actually worked...(see drive by shooting pics)...and we made it back to Gotham ready to hit the streets...
PICS 1: DRIVE BY SHOOTING - ART BASEL
PICS 2: DRIVE BY SHOOTING - ART BASEL