Related:
The Official Ty Web Site
Leisure Lab’s Month of Ty
Leisure Lab’s 2008 Interview with Ty

Ad Hoc Art presents CRASH / DAZE, an exhibition of works from artists CRASH and DAZE that have never been seen before. The exhibition features the first collaborative projects by these legendary New York artists in over ten years.

About CRASH: A contemporary of Keith Haring and a modern-day master of this present day art form, CRASH has shot his metaphorical arrows and dizzying flashes into subway cars, walls, and galleries around the globe. His work celebrates the movements of an ever-changing world and is a lavish gift to the eyes as well as a bold statement in time and space. A direct descendant of the Roman wall-scribes, CRASH has evolved his inherited gift back to its simplest form: “tagging,” leaving his name, with a Lichtensteinian twist. As artists have long left personal marks and signatures to authenticate their works, CRASH goes further, leaving only his name as a reduction of unadulterated form; or “refined” art. Via his tenacity and talent, CRASH has successfully transitioned from the streets into the mainstream art world. His work, now exhibited globally, still possesses the vivid color and energy he produced initially on subways. True to his roots, CRASH maintains the lettering and image abstraction many writers feel are crucial to the art form.

About DAZE: DAZE began painting New York City subway trains, the canvas of choice for the serious graffiti artist, in the late 1970’s. Since moving from subway trains to gallery walls, he has exhibited in Paris, Stockholm, Tokyo, Florence and many others. His work is in public collections such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Museum Ludwig in Aachen, Germany, and the Brooklyn Museum, where he was also featured in the 2006 “Graffiti” exhibition. The Speerstra Family, The Coveri Family, and Eric Clapton’s are private collections containing DAZE’s creations. While experiencing mainstream success, DAZE still participates in traditional graffiti art venues and paints many largescale murals in urban areas. For the sheer “love of the culture” he can be found collaborating with writers from all over the world In DAZE’s paintings, references of the bygone era of subway painting combine with representational elements of urban characters and places such as Coney Island, elevated train stations, Times Square, and the lower east side. Many show a clear link to the Ashcan School of painting and the WPA artists of the 1940’s such as Reginald Marsh, Ben Shaun, Edward Hopper, Robert Henri, and John Sloan.

The CRASH / DAZE exhibition runs from May 15, 2009 – June 14, 2009 at the Ad Hoc Gallery in Brooklyn (49 Bogart St), with an opening reception May 15 at 7pm.

DJ Shadow, Dr. Suzuki (credited as the inventor of the DJ slipmat), and Stokyo have teamed up to bring you the limited Shadow x Suzuki Mix Edition slipmats.

Get the Shadow x Suzuki slipmats here.

Madlib’s Quasimoto gets the Kid Robot treatment in yellow and blue. There will be fewer of these made than Kid Robot & Stones Throw’s Madvillain figure from 2007 which sold out in a matter of hours. Get Kid Robot’s Quasimoto here.

Also at Stones Throw, check out the history of Quasimoto.

Bisc1, rapper, wall painter, and designer asked ten producers and twenty visual artists to remix and interpret his 2008 album When Electric Night Falls. The result was The Strange Love Project. Featuring different visuals by a number of well known and accomplished visual artists for each song on the album, the Nightfall remix includes the interpretations of James T. Murray and Karla L. Murray (photographers, graffiti documenters, and authors of Broken Windows and Burning New York), Cern (renowned graffiti artist), and two other artists.

Bisc1 – “Nightfall” Remix by Le Parasite

Learn more about Bisc1’s Strange Love Project here.

Scott Hansen discusses the making of his Obama print at ISO50.

James Top, a controversial and legendary Graffiti Artist from New York City, will host his first solo show of the New Year, “Afrology” at the new Essex Street Gallery on Friday February 22nd, 2008, 6pm-Midnight. Afrology debuts as seventeen artistic variations of the 1970’s hairstyle, the “Afro”, and depicts controversial, nostalgic and historical messages of the African-American experience via mixed media and graffiti art. As a special note, famed street photographer and artist Jamel Shabazz will collaborate with Top on one exclusive piece at this exciting exhibit debut.

Better known by the media as “The People’s Graffiti Artist,” James Top has gained his legendary status as a founding member of the The Odd Partners (TOP). As a graffiti crew, TOP would come to dominate the New York City subway system during the mid to late 1970’s. Later, James evolved from the “tags” on the subways to elaborate canvas pieces such as those displayed in Afrology. Today James is an art instructor with his latest graffiti workshop having been the subject of controversy within the national and international media. While serving as an example of expression for younger artists, James Top hopes to use the Afrology exhibit to express what he calls “The Black Experience” united by sports, music, historical and current events.

“I take great pride in capturing what I feel is the African American experience in America,” says James Top about his solo exhibition here in New York. “It is my time not only to be the voice of graffiti art but also to be the voice of the people in my community.” The Essex Street Gallery is located in the Lower East Side, where the heart of graffiti explosion is synonymous with rebellion, controversy and talented artistic expression. “Our create a window into [the] artists brought together to inspire and support each other in an often hostile environment,” says gallery owner, Jordan Cory Sorman.

Afrology is anticipated to be one of the most widely attended street art shows not only because of the significant talent of James Top, but because of his profound messages about being an African-American man in New York City. As an added appeal, famous photographer Jamel Shabazz will collaborate with James on an exclusive art piece that is sure to be one of the most expensive pieces at the exhibit. For fans, it is a true display of how far your street credibility can propel you into an artistic position of prestige and respect.

More information here.

Back in November we featured artist Lichiban. If you’d like to learn more about her, check out this new interview by Garrett Heaney at Wishtank.

Bembe Segue and Mark de Clive-Lowe present The Politik Remix Album + Artwork Competition.

This competition is open to anyone and everyone who’d like to have a go at remixing one (or more) songs from The Politik’s debut album. The winning remixes will be compiled into the official remix album The Politik Remixed to be released on both physical and digital formats. The second part of the competition is an artwork remix competition for the cover art of the official release.

More information, download links for all the files, and submission information are available here.