Graffiti kids in Brazil, “pixadores”, busted into an upscale gallery and created what looks like thousands of dollars of damage in protest of the commercialization of street art this past week. Sao Paulo is home to Brazilian graf and serves as an excellent example of what we in 21MC like to call Creole Typography. Graffiti in the world’s second Blackest country on earth has adapted to Sao Paulo’s culture, environment, and architecture like perhaps no other modern letterforms I’ve seen. 21MC supports these pixadores in their fight to keep graf on the streets (aka relevant) and… well… punk, for lack of a better word. Of course, this is a complex issue, and artists should be able to get paid for the work they do. However, when pixador culture is being appropriated, it’s only natural to try to take it back like a maroon. First read and seen here.
It’s getting colder in New York, and that means our thoughts are turning to tropics. Tall Owen made this gif in preparation for a winter in switzerland… ya dig?
It’s hella late here, or early (depending on who you ask, I suppose). If you were to ask me right now, I’d say my back aches, my stomach is growling and my eyes burn. But none of that is going to deter me from posting right now. It’s just that I happened across something I had almost forgotten, and I want to make sure to share this before memory fails once again.
At the very end of 2007 Amnesty International (France) released a new public service campaign- As a whole it was nothing short of compelling. Still pretty profound in concept… the folks responsible are due some negro nods for having the gaul to say something important, in an emphatic way. It’s inspiring to see people who speak plainly and are less concerned with offending you and more concerned about whether you’ve receive the message they aim to deliver. So… many a negro nod goes out to:
TBWA\PARIS, Boulogne-Billancourt
Creative Director: Erik Vervroegen
Art Directors: Ingrid Varetz, Javier Rodriguez
Writers: Daniel Perez, Veronique Sels
Photographer: Michael Lewis
Retoucher: Jean-Pilippe Camus
While cruising mypsace, I found a couple new things on Afrikan Boy’s myspace page that I thought were worth sharing. AB has been Reppin’ hard! Can’t be mad at all.
I saw both their latest videos for the first time today. Gotta say… Janelle’s won by a lot. Kanye’s wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t as cohesive. There were a few things actually, but none worth discussing. But just incase you haven’t seen Janelle’s, enjoy!
The 21st century Maroon Colony is a NY/SF based critical art & design collective representing the Afro-Triangle and the 2/3s world.
Comprised of 3 primary cadres, we employ a Think-Tank, Make-Tank, Break-Tank approach- initiating and executing interactive design projects, developing and designing conceptual textiles & design objects, and distributing physical/digital information & goods.
