BURNING NEW YORK by James T. & Karla L. Murray (Gingko Press)
Graffiti art evolved from simple monikers to large-scale multi-dimensional productions of visual expression for the sake of critique and entertainment. What remains constant throughout graffiti history is its function to reflect, the conscience and counter conscience of the neighborhood to the neighborhood, according to the authors of BURNING NEW YORK, a collection of wide-angle colorful photographs of the best large-scale murals painted in New York since 2000. The artists responsible for the work discuss history, style, expression and conflicts of the graffiti art world in the context of their experiences as individuals and members of crews. As a time capsule of urban life and world events, the art presented here reveals that some history books really are better expressed in pictures. (reviewer- Diane Feuer)
Graffiti art evolved from simple monikers to large-scale multi-dimensional productions of visual expression for the sake of critique and entertainment. What remains constant throughout graffiti history is its function to reflect, the conscience and counter conscience of the neighborhood to the neighborhood, according to the authors of BURNING NEW YORK, a collection of wide-angle colorful photographs of the best large-scale murals painted in New York since 2000. The artists responsible for the work discuss history, style, expression and conflicts of the graffiti art world in the context of their experiences as individuals and members of crews. As a time capsule of urban life and world events, the art presented here reveals that some history books really are better expressed in pictures. (reviewer- Diane Feuer)
Freestyling is like rhyming. You've got to build a vocabulary, explains BISC in BURNING NEW YORK, Gingko Press' latest massive attack and sequel to BROKEN WINDOWS. The Murrays got together and photographed artists in action, and compiled a thesis' worth of interviews from New York's most notable writers. Many older artists assert the importance of knowing graffiti history, but they do differ in their approaches to things like freestyling, paint choice, and the teacher/student relationship. Much attention is given to the coining of a street name, the formation of a tag style, and the birth of the movement, the train. Comparisons are made between NY's focus on lettering and Europe's emphasis on background and characters. The book also includes sketches, a tribute to underground cartoon images of Vaughn Bode, and sections dedicated to female writers, battling, bombing, crews, fame, and styles. At the halfway point, the book commemorates murals painted in emotional response to 9/11. With the likes of PRIZ, POEM, ACB, DONA, MUCK, and CERN, may you never forget who started it all. -Cordelia Chadwick
BURN IT UP- GLOSSY GRAFF GOODNESS...
Can't get enough of that New York graf? BURNING NEW YORK by James T and Karla L Murray should get you salivating, as it shows nothing but proper large scale NY productions, including four oversized gatefolds to really ram home the stature of the spray can eye candy. Featuring the likes of Lady Pink, Cope2, T-Kid170, Doze Green and CES it's another big one for the burgeoning hip-hop library.
Can't get enough of that New York graf? BURNING NEW YORK by James T and Karla L Murray should get you salivating, as it shows nothing but proper large scale NY productions, including four oversized gatefolds to really ram home the stature of the spray can eye candy. Featuring the likes of Lady Pink, Cope2, T-Kid170, Doze Green and CES it's another big one for the burgeoning hip-hop library.
The workaholics at Gingko Press must be Monopolied up like that freakin' meglomaniac, Mad (Rupert) Murdoc! Not satisfied with hogging the market place with over 28 high-grade, graff-related titles, they have just dropped yet another; Burning New York. Authors/photographers James and Karla Murray have remained at the helm, operating with the same landscape format as their highly successful first book, Broken Windows-Graffiti New York City. This hardback, unlike their freshman tome, features 220 pages of interview snippets with a variety of the writers featured, blackbook art, decorative tags and probably every major mural you may or may not have seen in New York in the last six to seven years. Sections on the September 11 memorial murals are particularly relevant considering the location. A very interesting feature on Vaughn Bode and his son Mark, street bombing and female writers all help to break up a book that's otherwise wedged thick with productions. Depending on your taste, certain artists and crews really shine in this book, especially the older school artists who are really running with the new paint. Cycle, Rebel, Serve, Keo, Doze, Ewok, Dalek, Wane, and members of the TC5, COD, FX, FC and Wallnuts all control much of the style content-and rightly so. Personally, I would happily have Arab/Doc TC5 pieces tattooed on the insides of my eyelids, so I was definitely not disappointed as he's all over the book too. Although, here at Graphotism, we are so on top of our game that we have printed some of the murals too, this book's large format, fold-out pages really do the well-shot flicks justice. So basically...Burning New York delivers what it says on the label; that modern wall graffiti in the Big Apple is no fable. Gingko Press, keep stacking 'em up! www.gingkopress.com --Book review:Shucks One
Remember "Broken Windows?" 2002's classic definitive visual guide to the graffiti capital of the world's colorful history of urban art? Couldn't get enough? Good, cuz James and Karla Murray are at it again. Hollywood...take notes, cuz this is one sequel that not only matches the creative and educational essence of the original, but perfectly compliments and enhances it. The wiiiiiiidescreen format on most of the photos refreshingly allows every detail, every border, every corner of some of the City's most vibrant pieces to shine bright while the narratives that accompany them are not just simply observationals, but informationals. Some of the most touching imagery and story revolve around the images that transferred from artist mind to chosen canvas during the days and months surrounding 9/11. Follow history in pictures as the photography duo break down today's most promising stars and yesterday's legends. Interviews and portraits and pictures and sketches and pictures and more pictures. Not to mention a cover hard enough to "get over." (WAM)
BURNING NEW YORK by James T. and Karla L. Murray
An essential coffee table accessory for any b-boy or girl, James T. and Karla L. Murray's BURNING NEW YORK takes readers on an exhaustive trip through the New York graffiti scene by way of colorful images and intimate, first-hand accounts from the writers giving life to the City's walls. By combining dynamic photos of genre-bending pieces with direct quotes from grizzled graf vets and fresh (albeit unseen) faces alike, the book, a sequel to the authors' 2002 offering, BROKEN WINDOWS, paints a detailed mural of the graffiti mecca's current scene. Throughout BURNING's 200-plus pages, the artists, who are at times pictured creating their work within the book, offer perspectives on everything from paint to the future of the art form. Other topics tackled include where writers find their inspiration and their role in the aftermath of September 11. Although graffiti addicts will dig the insider accounts this book serves up, its words will not be lost on casual fans. Author-provided introductions for each section will school graf novices on terms like tag (an artist's alias within the culture) and bombing (covering illegal and risky territory in relatively quick fashion). So whether you're a street Picasso with a wild style or simply someone who sees the activity as something more than vandalism, BURNING's worth checking. (Justin Lamb)
An essential coffee table accessory for any b-boy or girl, James T. and Karla L. Murray's BURNING NEW YORK takes readers on an exhaustive trip through the New York graffiti scene by way of colorful images and intimate, first-hand accounts from the writers giving life to the City's walls. By combining dynamic photos of genre-bending pieces with direct quotes from grizzled graf vets and fresh (albeit unseen) faces alike, the book, a sequel to the authors' 2002 offering, BROKEN WINDOWS, paints a detailed mural of the graffiti mecca's current scene. Throughout BURNING's 200-plus pages, the artists, who are at times pictured creating their work within the book, offer perspectives on everything from paint to the future of the art form. Other topics tackled include where writers find their inspiration and their role in the aftermath of September 11. Although graffiti addicts will dig the insider accounts this book serves up, its words will not be lost on casual fans. Author-provided introductions for each section will school graf novices on terms like tag (an artist's alias within the culture) and bombing (covering illegal and risky territory in relatively quick fashion). So whether you're a street Picasso with a wild style or simply someone who sees the activity as something more than vandalism, BURNING's worth checking. (Justin Lamb)
Burning New York-Graffiti NYC ....the graffiti books are still coming thick and fast, with the latest and greatest named "burning new york." this is the sequel to the best-selling "broken windows" book and is sure to please an eager audience clamoring for more. what with ny being the capital of bombing, this vibrant epicentre of urban art is the perfect place to take pictures of and illustrate. expect interviews and intimate portraits, on top of the obligatory stunning pictures in burning ny.
BURNING NEW YORK James T. and Karla L.Murray Gingko Press
See Burning New York on the shelves and think to yourself, Another graff book? and I wouldn't blame you. You might wonder which of the featured writers creates art for Sprite Remix advertising. Not to hate. It's a complex culture, full of sellouts and beefs between crews, hate for the old school and hate for the new school, condescension toward female writers, permissions pieces and etc. And perhaps this is the greatest success of Burning New York, outside of the fact that it collects some absolutely sick artwork from New York City walls. This multi-faceted exploration of the different elements of graffiti in the big city, offered through quotations from writers themselves, provides a comprehensive if not particularly deep understanding of graff. We learn that some artists are focusing less on lettering than on background, which points to European influences and makes graff more acceptable as art rather than vandalism, and we are told by some that graff that doesn't focus on the lettering is phony. We're told that the new school has no sense of history, and that the old school is a bunch of crotchety people who can't stop talking about when New York was cool. There's a section devoted to tags, in which writers talk about how they got their names; a section on paint and caps that features a bunch of discussion about brands and colors; a section on Vaughn Bode, who's legacy lives on through his influence on old school writers like Zephyr and Dondi White, and through the work of his son, Mark; there is a section on female writers; a section on post 9-11 murals; and a section devoted to the black book and sketching, in which some of the writers discuss their insistence on predetermining their designs while others choose to freestyle. Finally there are declarations about the future of the movement. Photographers James T.and Karla L. Murray, in this follow up release to Broken Windows-Graffiti NYC (Gingko Press 2002), have presented not only their beautiful documentary photographic work, but also the paradoxical culture whose fruits they have documented. While some of the quotations could have stood a bit more editing, repetition and clumsiness can be excused as authenticity, and the stories and comments of the writers will stand as an interesting oral history of this point in time. The font size is a bit rough on the eyes, and after looking through the book for a few hours, the Hong Kong printing becomes evident as the spine begins to tilt to the right like an oft-read paperback. Still these cosmetic shortcomings can be corrected in future printings, of which there are sure to be a few.
See Burning New York on the shelves and think to yourself, Another graff book? and I wouldn't blame you. You might wonder which of the featured writers creates art for Sprite Remix advertising. Not to hate. It's a complex culture, full of sellouts and beefs between crews, hate for the old school and hate for the new school, condescension toward female writers, permissions pieces and etc. And perhaps this is the greatest success of Burning New York, outside of the fact that it collects some absolutely sick artwork from New York City walls. This multi-faceted exploration of the different elements of graffiti in the big city, offered through quotations from writers themselves, provides a comprehensive if not particularly deep understanding of graff. We learn that some artists are focusing less on lettering than on background, which points to European influences and makes graff more acceptable as art rather than vandalism, and we are told by some that graff that doesn't focus on the lettering is phony. We're told that the new school has no sense of history, and that the old school is a bunch of crotchety people who can't stop talking about when New York was cool. There's a section devoted to tags, in which writers talk about how they got their names; a section on paint and caps that features a bunch of discussion about brands and colors; a section on Vaughn Bode, who's legacy lives on through his influence on old school writers like Zephyr and Dondi White, and through the work of his son, Mark; there is a section on female writers; a section on post 9-11 murals; and a section devoted to the black book and sketching, in which some of the writers discuss their insistence on predetermining their designs while others choose to freestyle. Finally there are declarations about the future of the movement. Photographers James T.and Karla L. Murray, in this follow up release to Broken Windows-Graffiti NYC (Gingko Press 2002), have presented not only their beautiful documentary photographic work, but also the paradoxical culture whose fruits they have documented. While some of the quotations could have stood a bit more editing, repetition and clumsiness can be excused as authenticity, and the stories and comments of the writers will stand as an interesting oral history of this point in time. The font size is a bit rough on the eyes, and after looking through the book for a few hours, the Hong Kong printing becomes evident as the spine begins to tilt to the right like an oft-read paperback. Still these cosmetic shortcomings can be corrected in future printings, of which there are sure to be a few.