31 March 2009

TAG AU GRAND PALAIS


Over 150 graf artists are showing work at the French exhibition, "Tag" is enhancing the international recognition of graffiti artists. Among those honored in the show at the Grand Palais in Paris are four New York pioneers who have been active since the 1970s: Toxic, Quik, Seen and Rammellzee, the last of whom showed up for an opening event in a Darth Vader-style mask.

The exhibition runs through April 26th was organized by Alain-Dominique Gallizia, a French architect who became interested in graffiti as an art form when he encountered examples of it at his work sites. Most of the 150 artists involved are mostly from the United States or France, but countries including Australia, Brazil, Chile and Japan are also represented.


Via NYT
All these vids are in French, so if you don't speak the language enjoy the imagery:




Whatyouwrite.com has some really comprehensive photos of the exhibit here.

Mr. Thor Snappin In the reSession!

Post by Nicky Deter

Thor passed through some weeks ago with this hot number. This is showing at reSession @ Columbia College.

reSESSION SKATE DECK 2009
1006 S Michigan Avenue, 1st Floor

Gallery hours: Tuesday-Saturday Noon-5:00 PM
Open to the public as well as SGC conference-goers and exhibitors
Get Vibed.

Who's Up In The Streets Right Now by Emen Fuckos






Photos by emenfuckos

Officially Unofficial

Tonight's the opening for Officially Unoffical.

From their site...
OFFICIALLY UNOFFICIAL is an exhibition of prints, posters, photographs, and videos that emerged in 2008 as icons of the art movement in support of Barack Obama for President. The exhibition will include official campaign materials as well as independent work by artists and designers from Chicago and across the country.

The show is being curated by Nathan Mason from the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, Scott Thomas, the former Design Director of Obama for America and Chicago artist Ray Noldan of CRO.



Chicago Tourism Center
72 East Randolph Street

Opening Night: March 31, 2009, 6–9 PM
RSVP here

Performances by: The GENT$, Shala & Rachel Katzman, DJ Million$Mano, DIZ
The exhibit is free and will run from April 1 - May 31, 2009.

Post by Fotoflow

30 March 2009

Shampow!

You know that kinda shifty-eyed looking microphone-wearing actor from the Shamwow infomercials? Well, he was arrested for beating up a hooker!

Vince Shlomi,, 44, was arrested last month on a felony battery charge following a violent confrontation with a prostitute in his South Beach hotel room. According to an arrest affidavit, Shlomi met Sasha Harris, 26, at a Miami Beach nightclub on February 7 and subsequently retired with her to his $750 room at the lavish Setai hotel. Shlomi told cops he paid Harris about $1000 in cash after she “propositioned him for straight sex.” Shlomi said that when he kissed Harris, she suddenly “bit his tongue and would not let go.” Shlomi then punched Harris several times until she released his tongue.

Via The Smoking Gun

Shlomo "slap chopped" the hell out of the hooker. This is what she looked like after he punched her several times to supposedly fight her off. Sham-Ow.


Both Shlomi and his hooker were arrested for felony aggravated battery, and both had the charges dropped. Slap Your Troubles Away.

VANDALISM!!

Yea!!

29 March 2009

Medicine for Melancholy

A love story of bikes and one-night stands told through two African-American twenty-somethings dealing with issues of class, identity, and the evolving conundrum of being a minority in rapidly gentrifying San Francisco, a city with the smallest proportional black population of any other major American city.

Thanks Suzette!

Beat Diggin'

28 March 2009

Pixacao

Tabi Bonney

"Rich Kids"


myspace.com/tabibonney

FIRE (Put it in the Air)

The KNUX

myspace.com/theknux

27 March 2009

Yippity Yap!

Because every one else is on twitter we has joined up with the rest of twit nation, randomly shouting out into the darkness, twitter, twitter, twitter.

Link up or just follow us or whatever you're supposed to do until the next social networking site fad comes around.

twitter.com/UpsetMag

KRINK Fire Extinguishers

Check out these custom Krink fire extinguishers. KR made
for his exhibition in Melbourne. Nice design.

www.krink.com

Novem Spring Release Party


Our friends at Novem are releasing their new spring line of graphic tees. Check out the new collection and get 10% tonite!

The Novem Store
1104 N. Ashland
Chicago

NEXT

Hood Rich

26 March 2009

What's Up Right Now by EmenFuckos




photos by Emen Fuckos

Ninja Sonik Plays Chicago

NOW YOU ALREADY KNOW.

Young Jeezy Tells It How It Is...



The U.S. government is basically using the taxpayer to guarantee against downside risk on the value of these assets, while giving the upside, or potential profits, to private investors, “Quite frankly, this amounts to robbery of the American people. I don’t think it’s going to work because I think there’ll be a lot of anger about putting the losses so much on the shoulder of the American taxpayer.”
-Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz comments on the newly unveiled Toxic Assets Plan

myspace.com/youngjeezy

Thanks man, see you around man, fuck yeah, you guys are wild, thanks man, i dig it, see you.

New show from Cody Hudson show opens in Chicago this Friday, March 27th atAndrew Rafacz Gallery titled, "Thanks man, see you around man, fuck yeah, you guys are wild, thanks man, i dig it, see you." The show runs through May 9th.

Struggle Inc.

25 March 2009

KRUMPTY DUMPTY

Coming out this summer! Directed by Usher and produced by Madonna!

Spirit Rappings

FRIDAY - MARCH 27 - SPIRIT RAPPINGS in San Francisco



Spirit Rappings
March 27 - April 15, 2009
Opening: Friday, March 27, 6 – 9pm

Gallery Hours: Monday – Saturday, 10am – 10pm

Featuring works by: Sarah Filley, Daniel Turner, & Michael Wells.

Taken from the title of an Old American tune from 1854 and a Spiritualist term for otherworldly communication, Spirit Rappings features works in painting, sculpture, installation, performance, photography, and printmaking. Each acts as conduits through which hermetic recipes, public and private rituals, mystical revelations, transcendental reflections, phenomenological hallucinations, myth and the sacred ineffable are transmitted through monochromatic, primordial portals.

Photo Epicenter
26 Lilac Street
San Francisco, CA 94110

Via: hamburgereyes.com

More Sign Hijinks

Digital construction sign hijinks from Houston Street in NYC!


Via: STRAYS FOR LIFE

SKEME Out Take From Style Wars

"I'm out here to bomb, period. That's what I started for. I didn't start writing to go to Paris, I didn't start writing to do canvases. I started writing to bomb...destroy all lines." -SKEME

Public Enemies

Public Enemies is the story of notorious American gangsters John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson and Pretty Boy Floyd during a booming crime wave in Chicago during the 1930s.
Filmed mostly in Chicago and even using The Biograph Theatre location where Dillinger was killed this looks pretty gangster.

WE RIDE BY TRAIN VOLUME 2

23 March 2009

The Forgotten City

a FILTHY ROTTEN production

R.I.PARADISE KING KISER.
Props to Mista Pitbulls
Submitted By Emen Fuckos

This Looks Epic


sundance.org/sin_nombre

Chicago Suburban Woman Finds A $10,000 Albino Tiger Head In Street, Decides To Go Shopping

Woman kept tiger head in truck bed while shopping at Gurnee Mills!

Read More Here: www.dailyherald.com/Roooar!

AUGOR JUXTAPOZ INTERVIEW


Awesome Pic.
Aprils issue of juxtapoz features a 12 page article on AUGOR:
Juxtapoz.com/A Day with Augor in LA

Rev-Mcfly Interviews The Faro

Our Tight Pants Wearing Ass Ninja, Rev-Mcfly aka Jah-Star of NInja Sonik just did a interview with the allusive Faro of ADHD crew.

Peep It Here:
Rev-mcfly.blogspot.com/Meet Faro

22 March 2009

20 March 2009

Logan Bay Don't Go Away!

Interview by Frank, Photos by Fotoflow

Our favorite Chicago DJ, Logan Bay, is moving away! Oh no!



Don't worry, Logan's going to keep it up by toning up his CD-J skills over in Asia! We took a moment to reflect with him on his last four years of holding down the juke sessions and underground furry movement in Chicago. Be sure to check out his last official Gutter Butter show for a while at The Hideout this Saturday night!

Frank: How long have you been living in Chicago?
Logan: Right now its a few months short of ten years.

Are you going to miss it?
Hell yes! Though I grew up in Kansas City, Chicago definitely feels like my home.

What will you miss the most?
Harold's Chicken Shack (extra mild sauce, please), Jim’s Original (yes, with everything), Arturo’s 24-Hour Tacos, along with various other places that make you fat. I'll miss people too and the old school "can do" spirit that makes Chicago great.

What are your plans for the future?
My wife and I are going to Thailand for a while with some possible jumps around Asia. We plan to see that side of the world for as long as we can.

Thailand, wow! Have you been there before?
Nope, right now I don’t even know how to say anything in Thai, I’m gonna be a giant pale American alien in a new and strange land. But at this point in life, a healthy dose of culture shock is looking to be the best medicine.

How Did Gutter Butter First come about?
I was starting to DJ out more after the Bruner & Bay loft closed and really wanted to promote nights where the music would lean towards the booty and rap spectrum. It was an exciting time because the raise of Southern Rap had dropped the standard rap tempo so all these amazing songs where at half the speed of Juke and Detroit Electro Bass, making it easy to really jump all over the map. Through mutual friends I was introduced to Ben Fasman and he was hyped on playing these kinds of night too, and well, after that we just tried to keep the momentum going by promoting parties and making mix tapes.


What is the story behind your Bootleg flyers? Where do your influences in drawing come from?
Cartoons, comics, old movie posters, and pinball/videogame art. I just always liked drawing these little jokes, making pictures and then putting snotty comments or accessories on the characters or in the backgrounds, basically cracking myself up. Each flyer was me taking movies and characters and ideas I love and remixing them. I’ve always felt like the flyers I draw are an extension of my DJing. My Google game is tight too, thanks to image search no one is safe from the bootleg treatment. I've also been lucky to work at two of the best bookshops in the Windy City, Prairie Avenue Bookshop and Quimby's, so I've always been around an amazing assortment of printed material to keep the creative juices flowing.

How long have you been working at Quimby's? Does working in a comic book store have any influence on you as a dj and Artist?
I’ve been at Quimby’s for the last five years now. It's definitely been interesting to be on the front lines of the culture wars, being able to watch trends and ideas swell in popularity and then fade into the background.

How did you get into DJing and playing the music that you play?
I was the nerd who’d bring CDs and tapes to all the parties in high school; then I'd commandeer the stereo and keep the vibes pumpin'. Finally when I was in college, I sold my bass guitar and bought my first real dj mixer and shitty turntables. From there I just collected records I liked and worked on patching all the different sounds together. I think moving to Chicago and diggin records on Maxwell Street really gave me my first proper music education. It was mind blowing to walk home on a Sunday morning $10 lighter but having like a Yaz 12", some random Dancemania 12's", an Ohio Players LP and some other random dusties under my arm.


How was it djing in Chicago?
Chicago is a great town to DJ in. I honestly feel like the locals here love to get drunk and dance and have a good time. Sure there are some lame crowds, but for the most part you throw a tight party and people here will get down!


How do you compare playing in Chicago to playing elsewhere?
Playing other places has been okay, but I honestly feel like Chicago goes off. I mean, when I've taken the show on the road its always the Chicago or Ex-Chicago people at the party that will be the biggest lunatics in the room, while the coastal people work hard at acting bored?!?

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What's the weirdest thing you have had someone request you to play?
There are quite a few I could mention. First lets start with some famous last words, everybody and their mom comes up to you when you DJ and it always goes like this, "Wow, you are an amazing DJ...but could you possibly play 'blank'." That tactic doesn't work people. I once had a girl request music by Lindsey Lohan? That's probably the worst, but not necessarily the weirdest. At Rodan's once, this lady came up and was all like, "Can you like play some Bowie but then mix in some Madonna and maybe a hint of Spoon?" That was kinda strange? Also this complete lunatic once requested, "Can you play something better like the Killers or the Yeah Yeah Yeahs?" Mind you, we were playing a James Brown song when he asked this.

What is the weirdest thing you have played that went over really well?
The theme from "Duck Tails." People went nuts!

How much rumpshaking per se would you say goes on at your events?
As much as possible, I've seen my fair share of dry humping, turtle spin moves on sloppy wet bar floors, and the occasional dancing on the bar à la Coyote Ugly!
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Are you taking a break from DJing?
I’m hoping to DJ while in Asia, though I hear they aren't down with rap music and turntables aren’t that common.so I gotta up my level on CD-Js.

What's your favorite track you're playing right now?
Birthday Sex by Jeremiah (Juke mix or original).

How has your dj night in Chicago changed and developed over the past 4 years?
Its been a learning curve. I now basically hold down a weekly and then do bigger more fun parties once every 2-3 months. Working a weekly can get tedious, but that much time working with crowds and live on a loud PA really has helped my craft. I've also sold my soul and been using Serato for the past two years which has givin me access to a whole bunch of music I would otherwise been unable to play if I only used real records. It has also really freed me up to be creative with my DJ sets in ways I would have never imagined before.

How are you planning on going out for your last show this Saturday? What will you be wearing?
I think we are gonna take it back to the roots of Gutter Butter and play some really loud rap, Miami bass and booty. Hit the eagle and airhorn samples a few too many times and drink lots of whiskey. I'm not sure what I'll be wearing, that is a kinda creepy question, I'll probably be in my normal uniform which is a t-shirt (most likely by Freegums or Struggle Inc), standard dark brown khaki slacks from Target with a pair of salt damaged Campers on. No ballers here!

Logan on Behalf of all of your Juke feens and Chicago fam let us at The Upset say we will all miss you and wish you good luck out there!


To Check out more awesome pics of Logan and his cohorts click here!

And be sure to check out Gutter Butter's final show before Logan takes off at The Hideout! Don't Miss this one!


Join DJs Ben Fasman & Logan Bay
Saturday March 21st 11:30PM
At the Hideout
www.hideoutchicago.com
$5.00

Free Mix Cds While They Last!
Gutter Butter Tee's 4 Sale!

Last Official Jump Off!
Best Dance Floor in Chi
Don't Sleep!

90% Tax On Your Ass

Obama together with his treasury secretary flexed presidential muscle on insurance company AIG by putting together a bill to tax any bonuses given to employees of companies receiving federal bail out whose income exceeds $250,000. Earlier this month AIG gave out bonuses to its employees upwards of $500,000 each using money from their federal bail out.
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Obama's 90% claw back tax bill passed the House of Reps 328 to 93. The bill still has to pass the senate. The bankers are freaking out. What will they do with a measely $250,000??

From the Financial Times.

Royce Bannon's Work To Do Street Art Show, NYC



There’s already a huge buzz in the New York street art community about 112 Greene Street. An energetic array of images, some subversive, some bubbly, fill the walls and ceiling of the lower level echoing the street art found outside on the streets of SoHo. Royce’s iconic monsters are scattered on the walls, cute mounds of purple with round eyes, but razor sharp teeth. Wheat pastes from Cake and tags from New York City’s Smart Crew are found throughout; even Stickman makes an appearance.


Royce Bannon is in the middle of the chaos, patiently overseeing the work of nearly forty street artists with the help of long-time friend and fellow artist Ian Farrell. Set to open later this month, their show is entitled “Work To Do” and hopes to explore how each of us can rise to meet President Obama’s call that we all have a hand in making change.

112 Greene was an artist work space in the 60s and 70s, placing it subtly in New York’s romantic arts past. It’s proximity to the Mac store and the well-lit shops selling luxury soap puts it literally underneath the center of SoHo consumption. It’s 2009, and this new crop of artists is comfortable connecting with each other on the internet and openly accepts the web as a self-promotional tool. Martha Cooper did us a huge favor,” says Bannon, referring to the photojournalist’s recent blog post about the show on a popular street art website 12ozprophet.com.

Several other bloggers and photo bloggers have already visited the space, taken pictures, and uploaded them for the world to see. “Once we opened up the space and started painting, people saw pictures online and started contacting me wanting to get in,” says Royce. The roster of street artists for the show quickly grew into a list of almost forty, and now the space is a wanderlust of work from the likes of The Endless Love Crew, Skewville, NohJColey, Matt Siren and Overconsume.



On top of all that, Afrika Bambaataa is set to play during the opening, reuniting with Soulsonic Force. Royce admits, “It’s been a little overwhelming.” Thankfully, most of the work is already done.




“Work To Do” @ The Combine
112 Greene Street (near Prince), NYC
Opening Night: Thursday, March 26th 2009, 6-10 PM
Show on view thru May
Afrika Bambaataa and Soulsonic Force reunite to play the opening

Consequence

Buggin Out featuring Kid Cudi

myspace.com/cons

Heaven Spot

Ghetto Po took a pic of this faded floater the other day.

"He had told me when he was doing this, there was scaffolding and there was a crackhead couple going at it right under him!"
-Ghetto Po
R.I.PARADISE PETER BERRY A.K.A. KISER

Vandal Squad x Debate

Here's a photo of the panel discussion between The Vandal Squad and The graffiti writers that went down at Powerhouse.

The recent release of Vandal Squad: Inside the New York City Transit Police Department, 1984-2004 by Power House Books has caused consternation throughout the global graffiti community with charges that author Joseph Rivera is profiting off the very criminals he spent his career incarcerating.

In response, the PowerHouse Arena hosted a debate between former members of the Vandal Squad and three prominent NYC graffiti writers with the intent of providing an open forum for public discussion to discuss the issues regarding the methods that the Vandal Squad employs and their impact on the lives of the writers themselves. Panelists include Vandal Squad author Joseph Rivera, former Commanding Officer Lieutenant Steven Mona, original Vandal Squad Lieutenant Ken Chiulli, graffiti legend COPE2, graffiti activist Ket, and street artist ELLIS G.

Wonder how that went, read more here: 12ozprophet.com/martha_cooper/art_vs._transit
and here: loisinwonderland.blogspot.com
PowerHouseArena.com

19 March 2009

VICTOR ROMAN (VICKIPAGES, BOST)

You might remember Mr. Roman from the art show we had in Chicago last year. Also known as VickiPages Victor is a twenty-one year old artist born on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. His drawings express the influences of his urban upbringings. Check out his work tonight at The Black Ink Gallery in Harlem.

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Black Ink Gallery
55 Lenox Ave. New York, NY

Super Secret Art Interaction

by Fotoflow


Shadowy Chicago artist H. Mathis recently unveiled Super Secret Art Interaction (S.S.A.I.). In 2007, he began placing ads on Craigslist inviting people to have a super secret meeting with him. Of those who accepted his offer, he asked them to describe themselves so that he could create a portrait of them. They were then to meet with him at a public location where he would wordlessly hand them their drawing, take their picture, and then part ways. He wore a disguise at each meeting.

It took him one year to get 19 people to secretly meet. Most of his meetings lasted just a few minutes. For one meeting, at Milwaukee and Ashland Ave, he was stopped by the police and questioned for 30 minutes over what he was doing and why he was wearing a fake mustache. One woman came all the way from St. Louis for her meeting. Each encounter was secretly taped and documented.

In January, H. Mathis held a secret art show, to which only the people who had met with him were invited to attend. Upon their arrival they found a display featuring pictures of each person and a copy of the drawings they had been given.


H. Mathis was present in a glass booth and presented each participant with a copy of a book documenting the S.S.A.I. project.

His SSAI book, and its companion DVD with the secretly filmed meetings, is available through Multi-Polar Projects. More information on the project is posted at ANTI©SUCCESS.

Permanent Vacation: Closing Show

We're a little late on this one, sorry joe.
Tomorrow is the closing show for the permanent vacation installation by Morgan and Viking at the Novem Store.
Make sure to check it out if you havent yet. It should be less crowded than the opening.


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Thanks for the awesome pics from the makers of Hot Temper Sauce which is also available at the Novem Space! Oh Snap, they sell hot sauce there too?!

www.novemstudios.com

18 March 2009

Bisc1 “Strange Love”

Produced by Video Graf Productions.

Humble Hero

The story of Chad Lindsey an actor who rescued a man fallen on the train tracks and then disappeared into the masses of midtown:

“I’m kind of zoned out, and I saw this guy come too quickly to the edge,” (Lindsey) said. “He stopped and kind of reeled around. I felt bad, because I couldn’t get close enough to grab his coat. He fell, and immediately hit his head on the rail and passed out.”

"The man wouldn’t wake up, he said. “He was hunched over on his front. I grabbed him from behind, like under the armpits, and kind of got him over to the platform. It wasn’t very elegant. I just hoisted him up so his belly was on the platform. It’s kind of higher than you think it is.”

“I couldn’t see the train coming, but I could see the light on the tracks, and I was like, ‘I’ve got to get out of this hole.’ ”

Submitted by Heather S. Read more here.

Quartersnacks

AWMF RE-EDIT BY QUARTERSNACKS

17 March 2009

Wild Streets 2


Independent graffiti film. Filmed in Monterrey and Mexico City.

NYC Ain't Much Better

On the subject of certain parts of cities being frequented more and more by what can be considered yuppie society or privilaged hipsters, NYC ain't doing any better. Bushwick, Astoria, Lower East Side all becoming nice places to go and take a scenic tour of the urban environment. Or hey, why not just move in for a couple grand a month!

NYC has a long established approach to dealing with the problem as this video clearly shows from arabparrot.com. Next time you see someone you feel has no right to be in that "hood," just kindly escort them into the nearest cab.

Been working for years.

NYC IS DEAD.
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Posted by Frank S.

Boom Sha Laka Laka Boom Y'all

by Nicky Paychecks


Wicker Park the international destination!

There is one sure fire method to measure the "came too-late" and "bitch you slept" factors of your surroundings.
Step One: Look right.
Step Two: Look left.
Step Three: Process all the information taken in from your eyes.If you find yourself looking at a group of Japanese High-school Girls on spring break instead of a corner of Vice Lords....well your far beyond late. Sorry, get yourself a Miller Lite or whatever. Now this method only tells idiots they are way late, if your looking for a way to know when to leave that is another story. When getting groceries is easy or you notice more banks and coffee spots than Currency Exchanges, well pack your bags! Mc Donalds and Burger King, it's now a great time to come back--I'm sure your store won't get as fucked up as before.

Wicker Park...officially, Lincoln Park West.
HAHAahaaa P.S. Wiki has a Wicker Park travel-guide.(not my photo, it's stolen off this chick's Flickr, she has more photos of her girls)